The Orchard House is a weekend retreat for a family in Pune. A sprawling orchard flanked by hills on the southern side and offering a panoramic view of the backwater and distant hills on the northern side serves as the setting.

Editor’s Note: “Sitting atop a contoured site, this retreat home in Pune offers commanding views of the estate and the landscape. Inspired by the neo-vernacular architectural style, the residence seamlessly blends contemporary design concepts with a tropical aesthetic. Its exterior, characterized by a rugged stone wall, merges harmoniously with the carefully curated interiors. Crowned by a Mangalore tile sloping roof, the dwelling exudes an ambience of tranquillity and nostalgia, inviting a sense of comfort and serenity.” ~Simran Khare

The Orchard House Is A Weekend Retreat For A Family In Pune | Ipsa Design Consultants

Exquisite Location

The house sits on the highest point in the orchard, offering commanding views of the estate and the landscape beyond.

The house experiments with neo-vernacular style, expressing contemporary design ideas in a tropical design vocabulary.

Design Brief

The design brief given by the clients was minimal. A common living –dining –kitchen area, three bedrooms and a store for farm produce. The design interprets these programmatic spaces as communal and individual spaces.

The central volume of the building consists of common areas like the living, dining, and kitchen. An expansive, sloping roof covered in Mangalore clay tiles caps this double-height volume. 

Bedrooms

The bedrooms are the individual spaces plugged into the main central volume. Architectural elements like passages, stairways, or bridges accentuate and intersperse the transition from communal to individual spaces.

The dichotomy of communal and individual is expressed in the massing of the building. The house sits on a contoured site, so the natural ground level is used to segregate the communal and individual spaces at various levels.

Load Bearing Structure

The structure is load-bearing with composite basalt stone and red brick masonry walls that run parallel in the north-south direction.

The walls in between the parallel composite walls are red brick walls that run in an east-west direction. These walls have deeply recessed and large openings. 

This enables the house to draw light, wind, and views of the hills to the south and the orchard and backwaters to the north.

The building borrows heavily from the architectural vocabulary of the region it sits in. The square rubble masonry walls, hipped roof, timber doors, window frames, and shutters, to name a few. 

Most of the wooden elements, like the door and window frames, shutters, and even the furniture items, have been reused or repurposed from the previous house the clients owned.

The building integrates with the landscape through terraced patios and lawns. The cobbled pathways, the canopy of existing trees, and the monumental stone walls impart a nostalgic yet eternal charm reminiscent of mediaeval castles.

Fact File

Designed by: Ipsa Design Consultants

Project Type: Residential Architecture Design

Project Name: The Orchard House

Location: Pune

Year Built: 2024

Duration of the project: 4 Years

Plot Area: 1.5 Acre

Built-up Area: 2500 Sq.ft

Principal Architect: Ar. Ajay Mane

Team Design Credits: Ar. Pradnya Diwan & Ar. Rutuparna Diwan

Photograph Courtesy: Shoot My Space

Site Enginner: Sandip Pawli

Civil: Sandip Rangdal

Products / Materials / Vendors: Wallcovering / Cladding – Brick Tiles –AJ Multi-Tech , Aurangabad / Lighting – White Teak Company, Hybec, Vishwadeep Enterprises / Sanitaryware – Jaquar / Furniture –Afday / Flooring –Rangoli Cera, Pune / Paint – Asian Paints

Firm’s Instagram Link: Ipsa Design Consultants

For Similar Project >>> A Striking Brick House with Hints of Traditional Design and Essence of Reformed Living