Located at the heart of silence forest in Auroville
Residence completely powered by solar
Locally sourced materials
Light weight flooring and roofing
Recycled wooden floors and ceiling
Composite structure-stone +Rcc
Structure with Precast elements
This little forest house is planned as a permanent home for a couple.
Carefully placed into a 5 acres forest that is managed by them, the spaces are created with the intent to highlight the constant and harmonious interaction and coexistence, a synergy between the forest and the caretaker.
The plan carefully finds space between the existing trees ensuring the forest is unaltered.
Being fully surrounded by untouched greenery allows for an immersive experience of nature throughout all rooms.
Despite the interior spaces being compact in plan, their strategic openings and a little play-fullness in the two-floor layout create a free flow across levels into each other, making for an experience of vastness. Within this dynamic architecture, the light-flooded double-height living space marks the heart of this home.
Large windows towards north and south bring in maximum daylight, furthermore kindling a play of light and shadow which is filtered through the foliage of the surrounding trees, creating an avenue for a picturesque view.
Responding to the client’s need for zero disturbance to the surrounding forest, the building is raised off the ground. Tactfully taking on the role of a visitor, this abode hovers above the soil, accentuating its temporary placement within the forest. The calculated placement of structural granite walls, lifts the building and serves as retaining walls between the various levels of the original soil formations, thereby creating a channel for surface water, maintaining the integrity of the forest floor.
Consistent with the overall conscious approach, the underlying reusable elements, including the use of locally sourced granite as well as recycled/up-cycled wood from the site and neighbouring forests are used as feature elements throughout the building. The unaltered granite and wood textures become an exposition of the shared values of the architect and client.
The architectural form emerged out of the respect given to the site, as well as the functional requirements of spaces and building performance.
Adopting the play of textures and light of the forest, the facade reflects a truthfulness to its architecture, assembling a range of local materials and construction methods. The intentionally played down interiors reflect a simplistic lifestyle with a focus on comfort and functionality giving stage to the surrounding forest.
The double height space, as part of the passive design strategies, maintains a comfortable internal climate through convection. Likewise, the granite establishes a stable cool temperature due to its remarkable ability to dissipate heat.
The entire home is self-sustained through a 5.3kWatt PV system on the roof.
All appliances are low consumption inverter models with an exception to the water heater that operates on gas. All wastewater is treated in an anaerobic baffled reactor and like the collected rainwater, percolates back into the ground. This presents the culmination of consciousness towards the environs and accentuates the importance of delicate and considerate planning.
