Project Name The Villa in the Woods
Location Matial, Uttarakhand
Size: 6,071.5 sq ft (built-up)
Design: Studio Lotus
Design Team: Ambrish Arora, Sidhartha Talwar, Ansel Colaco, Adil Hussain, Ayesha Hussain, Priya Jindal, Satish Kumar
Located between Bhimtal and Mukteshwar in Uttarakhand, The Villa in the Woods is centred on building a self-sufficient community in the hills, living in harmony with nature. “Studies were done to identify strategies for watershed management, storm water management, and potential areas for development to minimise cut-and-fill and avoid disturbing the site’s ecology,” says Ambrish Arora, principal, Studio Lotus. Further, land parcels were demarcated according to gradient, sun exposure, scenery, and tree locations. “The villa is raised on stilts to allow the flow of natural water streams. Brush layering, a bio-engineering method, was used to stabilise…