Deolali House / SPASM Design Architects

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Text description provided by the architects. The site selection took 8 months and several walks over many many trips.

An exceptionally beautiful acreage of rolling undulated landscape, on the edge of a pristine reservoir, with an expansive sky and surrounded by several picturesque hills... Second homes, country living has caught on in cities with manic lives like Bombay.

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Chosen to build one of the first homes on the pristine virgin site Spasm, had a rather daunting task. The budget needed to be tight to assure other buyers that a lifestyle in unison with the surrounds could be lived affordably.

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Being remote, the approach to use precut metal components made sense. A flat body for the house was also relevant, to capture the expansive, almost CINEMASCOPE panoramas. A low tech lifestyle, was deemed appropriate, as breakdowns in electricity supply, lack of maintenance help, in the region being issues.

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Disfiguring the land was not an option, or a precedent we wanted to set. Most of the site being a gently sloping rock allowed for an economical foundation strategy.

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The act of arrival is heightened by the top entry where the reservoir view is served upon the large flat usable roof... The topography gave the cues on siting the house... as one walks down the entry stair the house reframes the views by breaking them down into precious FREEZE-FRAMES.

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The rest fell in place seeking cross ventilation, gravitational water supply, wear worthy materials, celebration of the colors of the natural landscape, taking in the sky and its varied hues, as the lakes surface and the movement of the sun creates magical atmospheres every hour.....