INDIA DESIGN ID 2024: FEB 7-12, 2024, NSIC GROUNDS, OKHLA, NEW DELHI
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INDIA DESIGN ID 2024 | 15-18 FEB, 2024 | NSIC GROUNDS, OKHLA, NEW DELHI

Home > Java Rain by Cadence Architects integrates with its surroundings through natural geometry and local materials

Java Rain by Cadence Architects integrates with its surroundings through natural geometry and local materials

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Fact File
Location: Chickmagaluru, Karnataka
Size: 5575 sq m
Principal Architects: Smaran Mallesh, Narendra Pirgal and Vikram Rajashekar
Photography by: Patricia Parinejad

 

Java Rain by Cadence Architects is a lodging situated on a 40-acre coffee estate in Chikmagalur at the foothills of the Mullayanagiri Hills, overlooking the valley. With a mesmerising natural backdrop for each built form, the development comprises a clubhouse, single villas, twin villas, a spa, a restaurant, and a tree house, among other ancillary facilities. The project deals with the idea of blurring the boundaries between inside and outside, such that the building becomes one with nature. The challenge in this project was to insert built forms into the existing landscape while blurring the edge seamlessly, like a graft. The landscape is treated as a visual and tactile element. The built form responds to both the immediate site context as well as that of the hill station. The organic geometry of the entire clubhouse enables it to be one with nature. The villas question the conventional notion of a cottage with a traditional pitched roof by having a butterfly roof, and they are extensively glazed to capture the views around them. Every cottage has a large deck that is simultaneously inside and outside. 

The surfaces of the buildings are rendered with earthy and rustic materials to accentuate their contemporary forms. Local materials available on-site are extensively used to help the architecture blend with the context but also make the project sustainable. The clubhouse is designed with multiple levels to follow the contours of the site and to capture the surrounding view. Care has been taken to cut a minimum number of trees and insert the building into the natural fabric. The roof becomes a critical element as the large, exaggerated overhangs not only make it theatrical and give a sense of calm and levitation but also become shading devices to cut the glare and heat of the sun. The interplay between open and semi-open spaces orchestrates most of the built form’s visual focus over the panoramic views of the surrounding site. Locally sourced materials lend a rustic feel to contemporary forms. The tree house is perched on the edge of the property over a rocky outcrop with a 270-degree view of the surrounding hills.

The clubhouse comprises an arrival area with a roof inspired by flowers in a forest. For this canopy, using flowers as an analogy, the form is conceived to rise from three distinct points to form a large overhang. This entire structure is made of metal and draped with a coating of ferroconcrete to give it a smooth, sensual feel. The canopy’s underbelly houses the waiting area and reception and provides beautifully framed views of the valley. A grand helical staircase takes one to the lower level of the restaurant, which peers into the valley. Just below this level is the infinity pool, which thrusts itself amidst the trees. The decks are as large as the rooms to encourage inhabitants to use them as functional and spillover spaces. While the rooms enable a compelling visual connection with the landscape, the decks enable a strong, tactile connection with the lush landscape. An elevated café aptly named the “tree house” provides a panoramic view of the scenic site and an adjacent lake. The spa has massage rooms that open into private courts; its shape is very organic and is conceived as a womb-like space for the users.

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