Summer is kind to this holiday home in Chandigarh amidst an orchard of mangoes

Nestled among lush orchards in Chandigarh, this holiday home redefines living in harmony with nature, showcasing a design philosophy that integrates architecture seamlessly into its verdant surroundings.

By Ela Das

25 April 2024

Image may contain Indoors Interior Design Wood Home Decor Chair Furniture Window Door French Window and Bed

“This was designed, laid out and built to camouflage into the surrounding silence and solitude,” recall architects Palak and Saurabh Singla, as they point to the stone pathway that leads to the open-to-nature holiday home they’ve built in Chandigarh on a compact clearing surrounded by an orchard of mango, chikoo and guava trees. Built for a family of four, who wanted a cosy and modest two-bedroom place for weekend getaways, the 1.1-acre site ripe with 49 trees not only preserves but also highlights its neighbouring natural elements—drawing inspiration from the site’s existing flora. “The clients are family friends, and were on the look-out for young and creative architects who could put forward fresh ideas and concepts. We had just started our careers back then, and were full of enthusiasm,” explain the duo, who are co-founders of Panchkula-based firm, Design i.O.

A stone pathway leads the way to the front entrance of the home.

Jeevan Jyot

The structure of the house has been built to camouflage with its surroundings. The slide-and-fold screens lead to the pool room, which opens out into the side garden, shaded by mango trees and a stone walkway that leads to the service kitchen.

Jeevan Jyot

Across the planned city of Chandigarh—built by celebrated Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier soon after India’s partition—its striking buildings and structures are renowned for its rich architectural history and green spaces. The House of Mango Shadows, designed as a sensory experience to celebrate the dialogue between human habitation and the natural world, stands as a testament to the city’s commitment to integrating architecture seamlessly with nature.

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Slide-and-fold screens, made with wood and cane, run along the front of all the verandahs to add a layer of privacy and filter out the air.

Jeevan Jyot

Metal rain chains or rain channels, inspired from a home designed by Geoffrey Bawa, have been fitted to escort roof runoff water away from the home.

Jeevan Jyot

To create a seamless indoor-outdoor experience, Saurabh explains how the team decided to “work our way around the existing trees without having to cut even a single one. Each tree was planted equidistantly within a 40-metre grid, but there was a small patch of vacant land in between. We placed a major chunk of the common spaces here, with the private rooms branching out from this central area, forming courtyards centred around trees. In order to keep the serenity of the site intact, we planned very minimal landscaping here. Organic clusters of low height plants, such as ficuses, areca palms, canna lilies and dracene were planted around the existing trees to highlight pathways and the built structure.” To camouflage with the surroundings, strategic floor-to-ceiling openings have been incorporated into each wall to look out into the verdant outdoors, softening the architectural boundaries fluently.

The open-plan living room, in the centre of the house, boasts bespoke furniture built with solid wood, cane and black granite. The stand-alone bar unit is framed with slide-and-fold windows from ALCOI on both sides, steeping the room in natural light and fresh air; while the vast expanse of trees cast an interplay of shadows from the three skylights onto the kota flooring below.

Jeevan Jyot

Upon entering the holiday home in Chandigarh, we’re welcomed by a compact yet inviting entryway flanked by trees along a neatly paved path. Further in, the home unfolds into an open-floor plan, where common areas like the living and dining rooms, kitchen, pool room and TV lounge are cleverly divided by multipurpose partitions that double as screen and display units.

The living space, not confined by traditional roofing, boasts three skylights that bathe the area in natural light. From this central living space, two bedrooms extend, each featuring their own private sit-out spaces facing the lush gardens. Privacy in these outdoor pockets are enhanced by bamboo screens, which softly filter the air. Even the expansive en-suite bathrooms are designed with private courtyards that include outdoor bathing facilities.

Also read: A vernacular farmhouse near Bengaluru embraces immense courtyards and natural light

The front bedroom showcases a custom-made bed and ottoman in Ashwood and cane against a backdrop of warm wood flooring and a grey textured wall by Asian Paints.

Jeevan Jyot

“Being one of our initial architectural projects as independent professionals, we faced a fair set of hurdles,” Palak muses, remembering, “While designing the home was tricky, the real challenge was building it with limited experience in construction. We were well versed with the theoretical knowledge of the process, yet navigating the intricacies of practically executing it on-site proved to be a tough lesson.” The duo describe the project as a learning curve, where each challenge was met with a deep-seated belief in their design principles.

Jeevan Jyot

The front bedroom leads to a private verandah with an inbuilt sit out. Leathered kota on the floors and a bamboo-clad ceiling wrap the space to create a grounded yet cosy nook.

Jeevan Jyot

The biggest takeaway, as Saurabh quotes German-American architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, was understanding that “God is in the details”—a mantra that meticulously guided them to realise, “In architecture, it’s the smallest of intricacies that make the biggest difference!”