HOUSE OF SELECTIVE VISION

Located within the Sahyadri Mountain Ranges is Aamby Valley - a city that is spread over an area of 10,600 acres; still growing and developing. 91% area of the land is marked as open spaces. More than a space for residence, Aamby Valley seems to offer a lifestyle. It was with this context, and an understanding of the significance of its location, that the studio undertook the design of a house.

Upon visiting the land that was appropriated for the project, it quickly became evident that while the overall location was picturesque, the immediate surroundings were occupied by preexisting architecture - stacked, shanty like structures - reducing the impact of the mountains, and its biodiversity.

The design of the house, then, needed to capitalize on the views of the mountains it did have at its disposal. It did this not only by creating multiple elevations to function as vantage points, but also by using porosity to its advantage; it plays with visual boundaries, choosing what to let in, and obscuring that which does not please it.

One of the major challenges posed during the process of construction was that of resource management - allocating labour, and sourcing material for the construction. As a result of its selective sight, the house is now a space that distinguishes itself from the built that surrounds it; assimilating that which it chooses to.