Weekend Home
- Client:Private Client
- Location:Daman
- Area:4000 sqft
- Delivery:Design Consultancy
- Design Team:Anu Chauhan
Prashant Chauhan
Amrita - Photographer:Sebastian Zachariah
- News:
Asia Pacific Property Awards
Architect And Interior India
IGEN Design Forum 2015
Contemporary Houses
50 Amazing Homes in India
Asia Pacific Best
MGS Architecture
The design brief was clear to make a weekend home, which is welcoming and relaxing and will be visited in groups hence has to cater to multiple activities at the same time. Since it was a weekend home away from the city, it needed to provided calming experience and be connected to more outdoor spaces.The design process initiated with planning along the trees, leaving two foremost palms as a part of the front open space.
The Mango tree was treated as the retro-fit outdoor seating beneath the tree, retouching the clients age old memories of a their ancestral house. Another Palm being along the indoor jacuzzi, open to sky ensuring its natural growth. The fourth palm was wrapped around by a pergola above the verandah, beautifully framing its verticality. The fifth palm the tallest of all, gave us an opportunity to let it pass through the bar counter in the living room, to the master bedroom and out in the sun and be seen from the master bathroom's skylight.
The Living room extends on two sides simply by sliding the windows, one side to the verandah and other side to the jacuzzi area (open to sky). Natural light was a major design component.
Between the Lines
Q1. What was the vision behind this weekend home?
The brief was to design a welcoming, versatile retreat — a home that feels calming, connected, and social. It needed to support multiple activities simultaneously, creating a relaxed environment for group getaways while maintaining an intimate connection to nature.
Q2. How did the natural landscape influence the design?
Nature was the starting point, not the constraint. The design evolved around existing palm and mango trees, preserving them as focal anchors. Each tree became a story element — shaping the layout, flow, and even the architectural vocabulary.
Q3. How were the trees integrated into the architectural plan?
Each tree found a unique role within the design narrative:
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Two front palms frame the open entrance lawn.
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The mango tree became a nostalgic outdoor seating corner, evoking memories of the client’s ancestral home.
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A palm near the jacuzzi grows through an open-to-sky cutout, maintaining its natural rhythm.
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Another palm is framed by a pergola above the verandah, highlighting its height.
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The tallest palm pierces through the bar counter, master bedroom, and bathroom skylight, becoming a living vertical sculpture.
Q4. What role did memory play in the design approach?
Memory shaped the emotional architecture — from the mango tree’s seating reminiscent of childhood days, to the open verandah that invites long conversations. The home isn’t just designed for weekends — it’s designed for moments that last.
Q5. How does the layout encourage an indoor-outdoor connection?
The living room acts as a fluid core — opening on one side to the verandah and on the other to the jacuzzi deck, both through full-height sliding windows. This dual extension allows the indoors to breathe naturally, blending sunlight, shade, and breeze.
Q6. How does the home balance activity and relaxation?
By designing zones that coexist rather than separate — spaces like the jacuzzi courtyard, verandah, bar, and outdoor seating allow different experiences to unfold simultaneously, creating a dynamic yet calm rhythm for gatherings.
Q7. What role does natural light play in the design?
Natural light is a defining material here. The layout ensures that sunlight filters through trees, pergolas, and skylights, creating shifting light patterns that change the mood throughout the day — reinforcing the home’s organic spirit.
Q8. How is the architecture structured to respect the trees and terrain?
Instead of cutting or relocating trees, the architecture adapts — wrapping, framing, and weaving around them. This sensitive planning ensures that nature remains untouched, while the built form simply coexists and complements.
Q9. How does the material palette support the design intent?
Earthy finishes, natural stone, and textured surfaces were used to merge indoors with outdoors. The materials age gracefully, echoing the timelessness of the trees around which the home stands.
Q10. In one line, how would you describe this weekend home?
A sanctuary of trees and memories — where architecture embraces nature, and design grows with time.
Photos
