Project Name: 3 Palm Trees

Location: Khattalwada, Gujarat, India

Area: 3000 sq ft

Date of Completion: 2024

Design Firm: MuseLAB

Principal Designers: Jasem Pirani, Huzefa Rangwala

Team: Sohan Kadam

Photography Credits: Ekansh Goel

History oozes out of every square foot at 3 Palm Trees. Nestled in the heart of Gujarat’s Khattalwada district, the serene holiday retreat epitomises the phrase “urban getaway” in every sense. The client, a young Parsi family from Mumbai, wanted to have a home away from Maximum City’s endless noise and restlessness. What they desired was for their holiday home to capture the intangible essence of Indian summers, when our childhood was filled with lazy afternoons, breezy porches, nature everywhere, and simple living. Khattalwada, a green village found in Gujarat’s Valsad district, was the ideal location. Now, all they had to do was find an architect who could design their dream retreat. 

Jasem Pirani and Huzefa Rangwala of MuseLAB (ID Honours 2024 winners in the Residential Interiors category) were chosen for their astute knowledge of designing people’s houses. Integrating sustainable and functional design elements, the architects prioritised natural light, uninhibited ventilation, and were committed to selecting locally sourced materials. All of which is pertinent while turning a local Khattalwadi cottage into a contemporary home.

The Challenges of Conversion and Conservation Architecture

Neglected for years and in late stages of dilapidation, the Khattalwada cottage was brimming with personality and just needed a cosmetic makeover. MuseLAB was founded to create a sanctuary that is inherently in harmony with its natural surroundings and native ecology. By focusing on organic flow, earthy materials and understated elegance as its foundational design language, the studio turned the bungalow into an extension of its landscape.

Rangwala and Pirani faced multiple challenges, the most worrisome being the inherent instability of the original structure. Since the cottage lacked a solid foundation and was succumbing to disrepair, they had to rebuild its entire skeletal base with durable materials and modern techniques. The second challenge was to preserve the triad of the 3 Palm Trees — a botanical constellation that was integral to the property. So, MuseLAB incorporated the trees as architectural focal points. Lastly, the third challenge involved balancing privacy with the desire for natural light, which was solved through the employment of large, wood-framed windows and geometric mullions. This allowed an abundant entry of filtered light while maintaining seclusion and privacy for the family members. 

Khattalwada is renowned for its rich legacy of handicrafts and artisanship, and is brimming with local craftspeople who have been practising their generational art forms for centuries. To respect this tradition, Pirani and Rangwala had the town’s native folk contribute to this luxurious retreat by using locally sourced wood and textured textiles. This was done while catering to a warm, minimalist design and muted colour palette – all of which reflects the Mumbai family’s cosmopolitan aesthetic.

Inside the Expansive Farmhouse

Opening with a striking view of two cuboidal blocks that are connected by one breezeway, 3 Palm Trees is an extraordinary residence. A meditative transitional space, the breezeway steals the show here. Dappled with warm sunrays that filter through its mullions, one could spend hours in this liminal space. The communal areas are housed in one block, while the second block contains private quarters, including bedrooms. Intimately designed, these private rooms are secluded but also connected to the outdoors through large, airy windows. 

Designed as the heart of the home, 3 Palm Trees’ living room encourages community and connection. With large bay windows that invite natural light and frame the lush greenery of the outer landscape, a seamless dance between the indoors and outdoors is enacted. Further in, the dining room is an intimate space that has been strategically positioned to receive unlimited sunlight during the daytime. With a table from IKEA and a bench from Freedom Tree, the room has been carefully designed for the owner’s love for quiet luxury, while the refurbished chairs reflect the potential of repurposed, sustainable design.

Minimalism further guides the bedroom design, each of the three emphasising the need for comfort and calm. Using locally sourced wood for furniture pieces and Khattalwadi textiles for bed furnishings provides a unique warmth to the space, turning it into a cocoon for nesting. All of this is further amplified by large glass windows that offer a bird’s eye view of rural Gujarat’s endless green terrain. Which is exactly what the urban family stressed upon while designing this farmhouse; to turn away from their screens and traffic streets and have only natural views to soothe the soul. 

Key Design Elements and Defining Decisions

What sets this home apart from other luxurious farmhouses is how MuseLAB infused it with unique architectural and design elements. One being the “breezeway”. Acting as the retreat’s “lung”, the breezeway connects the home’s two blocks while creating a serene corridor filled with light and air. To walk through it is to walk akin to walking on clouds; ample cross-ventilation is encouraged simply by its structural design. Other elements to focus on are the intersecting rooflines, outdoor hovering at varying levels, and crisscrossing geometric mullions — each one is intelligently positioned at different corners to add character to the repurposed cottage. 

Pirani and Rangwala also turned to elements like concrete that form the home’s structural backbone. While adding a modern and raw aesthetic, the durable material lends an understated elegance to the interiors. Harlequin floors add a playful palette inside, while the geometric mullions filter sunlight inwards naturally, adding an artistic touch to the fenestrations. Ultimately, all of these meticulous decisions contributed to making 3 Palm Trees a universe of its own, one wrapped up in nostalgia for those idyllic summer days filled with balmy afternoons, leisurely board games, starlit nights and breeze-filled porches. 

“Ironically, our first encounter with the residence was far from whimsical!” exclaims MuseLAB. “The stories of some abodes live a lifetime of their own before the bones of a home can come together. Such is the tale of this dwelling—nestled amid a colony of unruly greens in the hamlet of Khattalwada.”