Designed by the late Geoffrey Bawa after a period of frenetic work on large-scale projects, Claughton House in Sri Lanka embodies a sense of calm—mirroring, perhaps, how its architect felt building it.
Time had stopped in Sri Lanka, financial executive Brian Brille remembers thinking. In the aftermath of a long war, many parts of the country remained undeveloped, their pristine beauty undisturbed by the frenetic development he was used to seeing elsewhere in the region. Something about this country drew Brille in. The American decided to find a home here.
In 2010, he began to scour the country, looking for just the right property. “We circled the entire island, by car and by helicopter,” he says. “We saw Kalpitiya before anybody had started developing there; we slept in military barracks in Jaffna.”
Brille knew what he was looking for. “What appealed to me were properties with elevation, and with natural beauty.” When he saw Claughton House, he knew he had found both. “It was perhaps the most beautiful view I had ever seen.”
HIGH ON A HILL
Perched on the headland of Dickwella, the villa overlooks the wide sweep of the Indian Ocean. At one edge of the property, a steep set of stairs flanked by coconut trees leads down to a narrow gate, which opens onto a secluded beach. At your feet, the ocean is emerald and turquoise, its surface broken by the lazy roll of waves edged in white froth.
Along with the property, Brille inherited a dog named Rocky. He and Rocky would wake early to watch the sunrise from the living room. They were surrounded by life: peacocks strutted across the sloping grounds, fish eagles glided along the cliffs, and monkeys chattered in the trees bordering the house.
Denne historien er fra May/June 2017-utgaven av AD Architectural Digest India.
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Denne historien er fra May/June 2017-utgaven av AD Architectural Digest India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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BANYAN TREE VEYA, IN MEXICO'S VALLE DE GUADALUPE, IS A NEW WELLNESS RESORT THAT LOOKS TO THE LAND.
A two-hour drive south from San Diego, the Mexican wine region of Valle de Guadalupe-dotted with fertile vineyards and family farms-has remained mostly under the radar, even to food-obsessed Americans.
DESIGNED IN 1988 BY RENOWNED LANDSCAPIST MADE WIJAYA, THE GROUNDS AT AMANDARI IN UBUD, BALI, FOREGO MANICURED LAWNS FOR AN ABUNDANT NATIVE PARADISE.
Coconut palms and banyan trees in sizzling jungle greens, cascades of bougainvillea and the scent of frangipani in the air—a tropical explosion of foliage that would have led Monet to abandon Giverny.
BANGALORE CLUB'S MAIN LAWNS, WITH A MAGNIFICENT RAIN TREE, GET A NEW UMBRELLA BAR AND COLONNADE BY AD100 ARCHITECTS SANDEEP KHOSLA AND AMARESH ANAND.
Time appears to come to a standstill when one enters the Bangalore Club.
FROM HER STUDIO IN LLOYD WRIGHT'S 1927 HOME, DESIGNER VICKI VON HOLZHAUSEN IS REFINING THE SCIENCE OF HIGHPERFORMANCE, PLANT-BASED MATERIALS.
It seems not only fitting but poetic that Los Angeles-based designer and eco-preneur Vicki von Holzhausen chose architect Lloyd Wright's own 1927 studio and residence as the symbolic headquarters of her namesake company, von Holzhausen, a pioneer in the development of high-performance plantbased materials.
IN THE LADAKHI HAMLET OF TURTUK, A KITCHEN GARDEN SUPPLIES FRESH PRODUCE TO THE BALTI KITCHEN OF BOUTIQUE HOTEL VIRSA.
To get to the most exquisite yet humble meal of your life, you'll have to take a six-hour drive from Leh and reach Turtuk, one of the only four Balti villages that fall on the Indian side of the border.
MAKAIBARI'S NEW EXPERIENTIAL STORE IN KOLKATA IS DESIGNED TO EVOKE A TEA PLANTER'S BUNGALOW.
Smell the tea, feel the carpets, enjoy the space”—such is the invitation from Rudra Chatterjee, chairman of Obeetee and managing director of Luxmi Tea Group, at the launch of fine tea brand Makaibari’s experiential store in October, at the Taj Bengal in Kolkata.
ARTS OF HINDOSTAN PIECES TOGETHER A SHORT HISTORY OF THE MUGHAL FLOWER-FROM ITS ORIGIN IN ATELIERS IN MEDIEVAL INDIA TO ITS UBIQUITY ACROSS TIME.
The Mughal emperor Jahangir was famously enraptured by the beauty of flowering plants that he saw on his visit to Kashmir in the spring of 1620.
A FURNITURE-ARTWORK PAIRING COMES TOGETHER AS PAOLA LENTI'S CAMPANA BROTHERSDESIGNED BENCH IS REIMAGINED TO MATCH ARTIST HUGO YOSHIKAWA'S PLAYFUL STYLE.
Vegetation has been the central subject matter of many Hugo Yoshikawa artworks for the past few years.
FROM SCULPTURES TO JEWELLERY, ARTIST LYNDA BENGLIS'S DESIGNS FOR LOEWE FEATURED IN THE BANCA MARCH GARDEN IN MADRID EARLIER THIS YEAR.
This spring, when the gates of the private Banca March Garden in Madrid's Salamanca neighbourhood opened to the public, visitors could experience four monumental fountains, emerging from the ground and soaring towards the sky.
FERNS AND FLOWERS BLOOM ON TOD'S BAGS AND SHOES, A SPECIAL LINE DESIGNED BY RAHUL MISHRA― NATURE BEING HIS CONSTANT MUSE.
India was once called “sone ki chidiya” (golden bird) for its abundance of resources, wealth and prosperity.
