Amangiri, 'peaceful mountain' is located in Canyon Point in Southern Utah in the United States. The resort is surrounded by a dramatically surreal landscape of a desert. We love and drool over the minimal architecture in the monochrome palette with straight clean lines that frame the rugged and barren surrounding landscape.

We love the strength and confidence in design where embellishments are unnecessary and the landscape is at the center stage. We are in awe with the drama where the building is unapologetically modern in style but fits right into the landscape, where the building and landscape take turns in being the object and backdrop, the view and the frame.

Images courtesy of Amanresorts.

This is one of our favorite Indian style statements ! Enjoy !

Utsav House in Maharashtra in India is yet another beauty from Studio Mumbai led by the very talented Bijoy Jain.

It is actually one of my favorite Bijoy Jain creations. I love the scale of the house, the bare walls against the expert wood carpentry and brass hardware. I love the way the walls continue to become the floor finish. There is a quiet and subtle beauty in the thought and precision in execution that elevates this building above the usual and prolific construction that we have become accustomed to. Kudos to him once again ...

All Images courtesy of Archdaily.

It is another new year, maybe time for resolutions and new beginnings... Here are a few paragraphs from a poem that has struck me and I wish to remember it as we build Grounded !

---

A Psalm of Life

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)

TELL me not, in mournful numbers, 
        Life is but an empty dream ! — 
    For the soul is dead that slumbers, 
        And things are not what they seem.

    Life is real !   Life is earnest! 
        And the grave is not its goal ; 
    Dust thou art, to dust returnest, 
        Was not spoken of the soul.

    Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, 
        Is our destined end or way ; 
    But to act, that each to-morrow 
        Find us farther than to-day.   

    Lives of great men all remind us 
        We can make our lives sublime, 
    And, departing, leave behind us 
        Footprints on the sands of time ;

    Let us, then, be up and doing, 
        With a heart for any fate ; 
    Still achieving, still pursuing, 
        Learn to labor and to wait.

Elsewhere is a gorgeous down-to-earth resort in Goa with history that dates back to 1886. It is a located on a thin stretch of land adjoining the Arabian Sea. Defining true barefoot luxury, this is the resort Brad and Angelina have rumored to call home during their visit to Goa.

Elsewhere has 4 old houses on the beach that have been lovingly restored and the result appears breathtaking. Retaining the names of their historical use, they are referred to as the Captain's House, the Piggery, the Bakery and the Priest's House.

We love the simplicity of the architecture and the renovations. We love how the houses are simply a medium for users to experience the surrounding landscape which has been left largely untouched. We can imagine some beautiful breezy mornings and starlit nights in these homes.

The Captain's House

The Priest's House

All images are used with full permission, courtesy of the Elsewhere website.

Image courtesy of NYTimes.

'Pollen from Hazelnut' is an artwork installed by the sculptor Wolfgang Laib at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in January 2013. I was fortunate to have been a witness to this unbelievable piece of work and it has stayed with me all this while.

The installation is made with bright yellow pollen that the artist has carefully collected from the surroundings at his studio and home since the mid-1990s. In 2013, he finally laid it out as a rectangle on the gray concrete floor in the museum's atrium. I am captivated by the whole thought, the process, the dedication, the love, the artistry and the joy of the piece. Visually stunning, the piece exhibits components of smell, color and most importantly feelings and beliefs.

I can't remember the last time I had such a strong emotional reaction to a piece of art.

Below is a short video of Mr Laib and his process of creating 'Pollen from Hazelnut'. He calls his process 'a quite work', we love every moment of it and hope that you will love it too..

I love Manish Arora. I find him to be one of the most innovative trend-setter global-Indian designers today. He exhibits such bravery with his bursts of colors and wild bold prints. I like that he does not hold back and strays far beyond any ‘safe-zone’.

He exhibited the same bravado when he revamped his apartment in Paris and we love the result. He actually got a graffiti artist to spray paint his entrance ! And that was just the beginning. The loud pops of color, pexiglass furniture and his toy collections makes the apartment very original, uber-chic and avant-garde. (even the duct-tape on his boxes is neon orange !!) J’aime !

Images via article in NYTimes and Ozone Design Lifestyle.

The post would be incomplete without the wonderful-quirky-bashful-full of color video ‘Holi Holy’ by Manish Arora. The video celebrates the first time when the widows in Benaras played Holi (last year).

View fullsize

GOPIXPIC

Herzog & de Mueron is a Swiss contemporary architecture firm, one of the best in the world according to me. They have been hired to design the Kolkata Museum of Modern Art which is a very exciting prospect for all of us design lovers in India. I heard them speak some time back and one project in particular caught my attention and imagination.

It is one of their lesser known works, the Dominus Winery Estate in Sonoma, California. I love the contemporary design aesthetic, the simple building form, use of natural material, the play of light in the interiors and the building’s ability to blend into the surrounding landscape.

I specially love the elegance of clean straight lines and linear geometry that reveals textures and fine details when inspected up close.

All images via Dominus Estate (First image via Travelmodus).

Here is a video of what it feels like to spend a day at Nivim as the light changes from morning to evening.

Goa TL Full Compressed 03 from Anjali Mangalgiri on Vimeo.

Welcome ! This is the view from the main entrance door towards the pool and deck at Nivim

Ever wondered why the house is called 'Nivim' ?

'Nivim' is the name of the land the house is built on. We found it on the historic land records for the house and it only made sense for us to continue to use it as our commitment to the history and legacy of the land and our love for the inherent beauty of Goa !