KHOPOLI – The House Cast in Liquid Stone ‘conjures a cool sense of refuge and calm’ its architects at Spasm Design say.
The second home in Khopoli, India is sited on a basalt outcrop and is made of a composite of the material it sits on. The home serves as a sanctuary against the region’s stormy climate, which is generally hot and has a monsoon season from March to July. The house is ‘a refuge which traps the views, sun, rain and air and becomes one with the cliff edge it stands on.’
The cast house is built on the premise of being at one with its surroundings. Near the entrance, there is a cut in the roof to avoid a mango tree, and on the terrace leading up to an infinity pool, another tree sprouts out of the solid mass of the house, breaking the dominant orthogonal profile. The house is built for leisure, which is a point made obvious in details like the outdoor swing bench, spa-like bathrooms and a proliferation of lounge chairs. The house takes on a horizontality ideal for observing the surrounding panoramas. Floors, walls and ceilings frame views and create vistas towards the surrounding lush green landscape of India’s western ghats.
Furniture pieces have similar forms to the house – long, rectangular and horizontal, emphasising leisure with a focus on observing panoramic views. The difference between the built form and furniture is in material, the furniture being made of wood, which is a texture more pleasant to the touch than rock aggregate.
The house alternates between giving rain protection with roof overhangs and completely exposing different parts of the house – like the bathrooms and staircase – to the sky. Bathrooms give a sense that the Khopoli house is truly tropical construction – they are partly outside, ventilated through total exposure to the sky and give off a sense of never being cold.
There is a sense of understated drama in the simple materials and exquisite views at the Khopoli house. It is an elegant yet rustic spot to ‘observe and sense the spectacle of nature’.
Photos courtesy of Sebastian Zachariah and Denver Pereira
