Location: Hyderabad India - Kanha Shantivanam
completion : 2022
Design Firm : tHE gRID Architects
What is home? Is it an enclosure of bricks and mortar? Or a feeling, an emotion? Will it be enough just to be the one and not the other? Or is it a confluence of the corporal and the abstract, a meeting ground of the tangible and the intangible, an intersection of the mind and the body?
These are some of the introspections we did when designing a home for Daaji, the WORLD spiritual leader of the Sahaj Marg (Heartfulness) path of meditation. That our deliberations became tinged with the metaphysical was not surprising. We also paid heed to Daaji’s notion of a home — a place where ‘you’ and ‘I' are supplanted with ‘us’, where we can cultivate a comfortable and warm atmosphere in addition to its physical location. As a result, we strove towards simplicity of articulation and richness of spirit and endeavoured for a space that embodied human emotions and sentiments rather than being an enclosure erected with building materials. The paradigm of togetherness and being oneself was thus set by Daaji's house.
Daaji's home, influenced by biophilic ideology and Biomorphism, embodies the essence of nature and human emotions. The house harmoniously blends with its surroundings, incorporating rocks and trees into its fluidic form. Nature-driven materials like red bricks and lime plaster create a warm contextual atmosphere. The internal program provides privacy while accommodating visitors, with a spacious living room and dining area connected to a central courtyard. Nature takes center stage within the design, with rooms oriented towards natural elements and even allowing rocks and trees to be partially enclosed within the living spaces. This home celebrates togetherness and love, symbolizing the strength that binds its roots.
