A second home is usually where people finally get to build exactly what they want: more space, more sky, slower days. It’s also where the climate is less forgiving than in a city apartment. Coastal salt, heavy monsoons, hot dry summers, termites and long gaps between visits all need designing for.
what we design
- Holiday homes and weekend homes within a short trip of Mumbai: Alibaug, Karjat, Lonavala and Khandala, Dahanu, Nashik.
- Family homes and bungalows in Pune, Goa and Gujarat, and on family land elsewhere in Maharashtra.
- Additions and transformations of existing houses and farmhouses.
We design the architecture and the interiors together, so the house reads as one idea from the gate to the door handles.
how we design for the site
- Climate first: orientation, shading, cross-ventilation, deep verandahs and roofs designed for the monsoon, before any mechanical system.
- Local materials: stone, earth, lime and timber from the region wherever possible, built by local craftspeople.
- Low-maintenance detailing for homes that sit empty for weeks: finishes that weather gracefully, drainage that works without supervision, and spaces that lock up simply.
- Landscape as part of the plan: courtyards, existing trees, views and outdoor rooms.
We’ve written practical guides to building a holiday home in Alibaug and designing a Goa home for the monsoon.
experience
Before founding the studio, our founders were on the design teams for a 24,000 sq. ft. holiday home in Alibaug and a 10,000 sq. ft. family home and gallery in Kutch (both with Architecture BRIO), and a climate-responsive school in Yavatmal built from site-soil earth blocks (with SE-ARCH). Read about that work, credited to those teams, in before in•elements.
working away from mumbai
We visit site at every key stage, work with trusted local contractors and engineers, and keep you updated between visits with photographs, drawings and a clear schedule. See designing a home in another city and where we work.
See also: sustainable design · process · FAQ