Images sourced from Anupama Kundoo

Wall House in Auroville is an experimental house designed by sustainability champion Anupama Kundoo. The architecture employs a play in proportions to create comfortable yet dramatic spatial envelopes. The house is built entirely with locally sourced materials in new, innovative ways to create soothing, earthy spaces that respond to the warm, humid climate.

Wall House is predominantly constructed with the vernacular ‘Achukkal’ brick, once ubiquitous to the building landscape in Tamil Nadu. Known for their unique flat, thin profiles and their distinctive red colour, Achukkal bricks are typically made out of left-over silt that is collected from farmlands around. They are then shaped by hand and fired in clay ovens for strength and stability. The bricks are deemed to be extremely sustainable, given their long life, low cost of production, and the sparing amounts of energy use for manufacturing.

The earthy palette and warm finishes move beyond the brick walls and are found throughout the house. The august clay pot vault above the double-height living space and the innovative filler slab roof above the dining area are particularly worthy of mention.

Each facade of Wall House sports unique fenestrations that bring in fresh air and ample daylight. On one side, a series of louvered windows built out of local mango wood and completed with unpolished granite stone come into sight. On the other side, a series of pivoting ferrocement screens open the house to the verdant landscape around when open, and bring beautiful light and shadow patterns indoors when closed.

We have some much-awaited news!

Grounded will soon be launching 2 new luxury villas for sale in North Goa. Set within beautiful Aldona, the house is surrounded by peaceful green vistas and the rustic charm of the Goan countryside. With expansive living spaces, intimate pockets that look out to the pool, and nearly 3500 sqft of open space, the house seeks to offer seamless indoor-outdoor living. Like all our other residential projects, the villas will be sustainable, architecturally relevant, and closely connected to nature.

To know more about the villas,

It is such a joy to see our project House with Three Pavilions find beautiful space in print and on the cover of Livingetc Magazine’s June 2022 issue. Aptly titled - ‘A Home with A Verandah’, the article draws attention to our countryside Goan house’s tangible connection to nature. It throws light on our tropical modern design approach and celebrates our efforts to create seamless indoor-outdoor spaces that allow our clients to take everyday life outdoors.

Read the published story here.

If you are considering buying a house in Goa, read our blogpost: What to Look For While Buying A House in Goa

To know more about our design process, take a look at: Designing A House in Goa

Grounded in Goa is a series that documents the everyday beauties and joys of living in Goa. For anyone looking to move to Goa, it offers a glimpse into Goa's undeniable connection with nature, a life lived in harmony with the fertile land, changing skies, and the giving waters.

Also read - What To Look For While Buying A House in Goa and Designing a House in Goa

Utsav House by Studio Mumbai is a sanctuary of serenity. This elemental yet contemporary house in Alibag by architect Bijoy Jain sensitively makes room for intimate interactions with the surrounding greenery as it effortlessly bridges the indoor with the outdoor. The picturesque scenes and the connections to the tropical context resonate deeply with our values, the natural roots we turn to while designing and building houses in Goa. Built with locally available material and around numerous indigenous trees, Utsav House achieves poetic spaces that have a rustic simplicity without compromising on any of our modern creature comforts. Throughout, the focus is on intentional building and living, through architecture that takes cues respectfully from the terrain and landscapes around.

Images courtesy Archdaily and The New York Times Style Magazine

Visit our previous blogpost on Utsav House here.

Learn more about Bijoy Jain’s Kapadia House, that is now a popular AirBnB here.

Image sourced from the internet.

Sweet summer memories for most of us involve climbing mango trees to pluck all the fresh fruit our hands could possibly reach. The mangoes of Goa are second to none, and the state is among the producers of the highest number of varieties of this delicious summer fruit. However, one particular local Goan mango trumps all others - Mankhurad!

Also known as Goa Mankur, Kurad, Malcorado, Corado etc, Mankhurad first entered the Goan belt in the early 1600s with the Portuguese travelers. With a cultivation history that spans centuries, this Goan variety has grown to become only sweeter with time. Today, the Portuguese Malcorado, is shipped all across India for its distinct taste and finds its way to the Goan summer table as fresh fruit, as well as jams, compotes and ice creams.

Life around the Mankhurad at Navovado

We were lucky to find five full grown, fruiting, and gloriously canopied Mankhurad trees on site when we began our design-development project Navovado. We have consciously preserved the vegetation and designed a modern Goan house around these magnificent mango trees that give us fresh, bountiful harvests in the summer and are a glorious green sight for sore eyes throughout the year.

Life in Goa has a laid-back, luxurious simplicity that is hard to come by in most of our cities today. People who move here are typically looking to leave the rat race behind in pursuit of a slower lifestyle that offers infinite and diverse opportunities to live in harmony with the land, to embrace the local culture, to enjoy the natural abundance as well as savour the bounties brought by changing seasons.

While Goa is a small state, each of its neighbourhoods offer different and unique living experiences. For anyone who is considering moving to Goa or buying a house in Goa, here is a detailed analysis of what one can expect from the neighbourhoods of North Goa.

PANJIM & ITS SURROUNDINGS

Image sourced from The Culture Trip.

PROS:

As the capital city, Panjim is extremely well connected and relatively easier to access. It is a quaint and small town that bridges the old and the new - it offers modern residential amenities while also retaining historic neighbourhoods such as Fountainhas. Panjim, is at its core, a residential area primarily and therefore also has a robust presence of schools around. It is also close to the beach stretches of Miramar, Caranzalem, and Dona Paula.

CONS:

It may not be easy to get a large, spacious house with a backyard in Panjim. The houses available are largely present in apartments and the availability of outdoor space within a plot is hard to come by.

ALDONA, MOIRA & POMBURPA

Image sourced from Tripoto.com

PROS:

Located to the east of the highway, these are quaint villages in North Goa that are positioned at a distance from the beach belt and are therefore saved from Goa’s maddening tourist crowds. The villages offer a quiet lifestyle meant for people who want to coexist with locals and enjoy the real Goa. However, these areas have been gaining popularity over the last ten years as prime locations for countryside vacation homes. These areas typically contain vacation houses built by expats and Indians who live abroad.

CONS:

It is a bit of a trek to the beach from these areas. The closest beaches are about 40-45 minutes away. These areas are also sought after for their pristine and undisturbed natural habitats. Thus, one should expect to entertain the local flora and fauna in their home.

ASSAGAO & SIOLIM

Image sourced from Ghoomophiro.com

PROS:

These were traditionally well-to-do villages that today have some gorgeous and large heritage houses. These villages are closer in proximity to the beach belt and see a lot of local as well as tourist activity. The neighbourhood hosts multiple restaurants and stores of different kinds, so it is charged with buzz, life, and movement throughout the day.

CONS:

Unfortunately, the quintessential quietude of Goa is no longer to be found in these areas. Commercial activity has taken over and most parts of these villages are overbuilt in the name of development.

NERUL, BETHE & REIS MAGOS

Image sourced from Alvira-Ventures

PROS:

These are pictureque villages that are steeped in history. They are also strategically located. Positioned midway between the Candolim beach belt and Panjim, they make the beachside as well as the townside easily accessible.

CONS:

Gentrification has rapidly taken over these areas as well. It may be possible to get a beautiful row house in these areas, however, bigger houses and larger plots will not be easy to come by.

To compare North Goa and South Goa, visit our analysis here.

To know more about building a house in Goa, read our series: Designing a House in Goa

Now that you've got this house in Goa, imagine all the things you can do with it to make it your sanctuary. The most wonderful thing about having a house in Goa is being able to enjoy the natural immersion and the seasonal indulgence that comes with it. To us, design is a direct way to enhance comfort, improve quality of living, and create richness in experience within every space.

Design can be simple but generous and luxurious when the right materials and strategies are used. Here are 5 effective ways to create rustic spaces that are designed for barefoot and earthy luxury.

01 Create spacious bathrooms finished with rustic materials that feel great against bare feet.

Find bathrooms designed as sanctuary spaces here.

02 Use a colour palette of subtle shades & tones in neutral monochromatic colours.

Read more about building a neutral palette here.

03 Take advantage of the unique colours, patterns and textures of natural materials.

Learn about using and maintaining wood, lime, and IPS here.

04 Design landscape to mimic a wild landscape as opposed to manicured landscape.

Learn more about natural landscaping and local species here.

05 Practice a bit of wabi sabi where you appreciate and live with site's imperfections and the aging of materials.

Read our blogpost on living with nature.

We love creating spaces with an intention to reconnect with nature - spaces that allow ample daylight and maximise natural ventilation, that seamlessly transition from indoor to outdoor and facilitate outdoor living. All of these aspirations can be easily realised using 5 key strategies to connect the inside with the outside.

01. Build around site's existing features, elevations, topography and consider restoring habitats.

Try to retain the site in its natural state as much as possible by limiting building footprint and preserving the existing ecological patterns. Before building, take time to observe natural patterns such as sun and shade, rain and drain, dry and lush areas, etc.

Visit the link to learn more about taking a site positive approach.

02. Design for extensive verandahs and incorporate verandahs as transition spaces to take everyday activities outdoors

Design indoor spaces that are flanked by generous outdoor spaces in the form of verandahs and courtyards. You can read our blogpost about the benefits of incorporating verandahs here.

03. Create large openings that seamlessly connect the indoors with the outdoors

Introduce large openings in between these indoor and outdoor spaces which can be opened up to connect the two spaces to allow them to function as one space.

04. Frame views

The openings should be designed to frame views and focus on key natural elements on the site, such as an existing tree, water feature, rocky outcrop, and/ or the views offered by the site.

Find out more about framing views here.

05 Continue the same material from indoor to outdoor and play with finish and texture to create variance

We like to use the same material in the indoor and outdoor space, once again connecting them visually and making them appear as one continuous space. The finish can be slightly altered from space to space ranging from mirror polished to rough cut as seen in the photograph below.

Find our answers to frequently asked questions about using natural stone here.

We have recently started work on a small house for a lovely young family in Talpona village in Goa. The focus will be on indoor-outdoor living and creating opportunities to connect with nature. The project site is contoured and verdant, with lush trees meeting the eye every side we turn. Our vision for the project is to bring land and life together, through timeless contemporary-vernacular architecture. As we explore the relationships between space and site, we ask ourselves repeatedly,

What are the views that we can frame? How can we create open, continuous and connected spaces? How much light and breeze comes through? How can we create pockets around different natural clusters? How will each space change with time to allow for multiple experiences?