A secondary residence for its owners, this amazing bunker-like house was built to face extreme weather conditions. Sitting atop a hill in the Maharashtra region in India, the house must face very heavy rain during the monsoon period, and very high temperatures during summer. Its designers, Spasm Design Architects, conceived the whole house based on this essential criterion. The geology of the hill the house sits on is dominated by a black rock called basalt. The architects exploited this local resource to the maximum in the structure of the house. For the facades, they created a special concrete by mixing water, sand, cement and granular basalt. This last ingredient gives the concrete slabs dark shades. The back side of the pavilion is windowless, and it presents itself as a concrete wall to the left and a hollow part to the right, covered by a flat concrete slab as roof. Seen from the other side of the hill, the main structure of the house has a U shape, with a pool and pool deck in the middle, surrounded on three sides by living and sleeping spaces. The architects are alternating open and closed spaces, creating a house full of surprising spots.
At the top of the hill, the way to the main entrance is through a covered patio, as if to give the tired visitor a place to rest a while before venturing inside. A cozy swinging bed hands from the concrete ceiling for this purpose. The patio’s floor is made of basalt gravel and thin basalt tiles. The roof of the patio has an opening towards the sky, in order to give sun and water to the tree growing right in the middle. The way into the house is guarded by a sliding see-through teak wood gate.
Once inside, one is directed towards the central meeting point of the house, the main dining and living space. This space opens up at the front and at the back, creating a see through open space. At the front it opens on the pool and pool deck, and at the back towards the staircase that leads to the roof.
At the front of the U shape and slightly protruding out of it, there is the infinity pool and its basalt tile deck. The pool opens spectacular panoramic views of the nature beyond.
Through the open living space one gets to the turn of the U, where there is a staircase leading up to the roof. The structure of this staircase is a great example of craftsmanship and use of the local black basalt stone.
The bedrooms are filled with light. The decor is tasteful, with design accent furniture but without any excesses. They all have ensuite bathrooms. The floors are in basalt stone as well, but this time made of extra large tiles.
Some of the bathrooms continue outdoors with small patios. Sunken bathtubs offer the amazing experience of bathing under the open skies.
