The swimming pool is Villa Uma's richest subject: a 65-foot-long, dark granite black forest gateau of a pool. Shadowy and decadent, it beckons the villa's guests with an almost wolfish eagerness. The enigmatic pull of the pool, surrounded by wild grasses and hemmed in by black-and-white striped vintage deckchairs, is such that in one sensational minute clothes are off and everyone relents. The whole outdoor scene is a whistling, rustling Slim Aarons double-spread dream, swaddled in a muslin Kerala towel.
A dream of Mansi and Akshat Poddar, a pair of entrepreneurial siblings from Mumbai, the pool was brought to life by architect Samuel Barclay, cofounder of Mumbai-based AD100 firm Case Design.
The villa itself is okay to be the pool's understudy and waits in the wings until you have swum to your heart's content. But when it finally gets to play its part, it shines onstage in more ways than one.
Villa Uma was designed around four mango trees that existed on this one-acre plot long before the Poddars purchased it 15 years ago. The fruit of Barclay and his team's labour is a quietly luxurious, minimally designed home, built with black basalt and coloured plaster. It is smooth, sustainable, wildly landscaped, and shy to reveal its best details.
"Our influences for Villa Uma range across modern and contemporary architects and designers but we are certainly interested in the local vernacular as well. We have taken cues from village houses with deep overhangs to protect window and door openings, while trying to orient each of the spaces to a unique view or experience. This is sometimes a distant view of the hills or a framed portrait of the internal gardens," Barclay says, adding that the plan of the house is loosely arranged to capture these moments of tranquillity.
Denne historien er fra May - June 2023-utgaven av AD Architectural Digest India.
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Denne historien er fra May - June 2023-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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IT TAKES A VILLAGE
IN A TRADITIONAL, OPEN-TO-SKY COURTYARD HOME IN ANEGUNDI, NEAR HAMPI, HERITAGE CONSERVATIONIST, PAINTER AND FOUNDER OF THE KISHKINDA TRUST, SHAMA PAWAR LIVES AND REVITALIZES CRAFT TRADITIONS BORN FROM THE LAND'S RICH PAST.
MATKAS OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FORM, RESIST-DYED SACRED CLOTHS HUNG AS TAPESTRIES, MUD PLASTER OR "LIPAI" WALLS, AND A JOURNEY IN COLOURS AND PODDAR AND EESHAAN PIGMENTS ANUPAM KASHYAP 'S DELHI HOME IS A PURSUIT OF A LAYERED, TACTILE BEAUTY.
Anupam Poddar and Eeshaan Kashyap's generous first-floor apartment in the shadow of Humayun's Tomb harks to a leisurely way of living.
CLASSIC BEIRUT HERITAGE AND GLAMOUR
A COLLECTOR AND ANTIQUE S DEALER, THE LATE HOME, BEIT CHABEB I N BEIRUT, IS A COMING JOE TOHMES GREATEST PASSION PROJECT, HIS TOGETHER OF THE RUSTIC AND THE REFINED.
LAL KOTHI
TEXTILE LOVERS PETER AND CECILE D'ASCOLI TRANSFORM THEIR DELHI FARMHOUSE INTO A KALEIDOSCOPIC FEAT OF COLOUR AND PATTERN.
ATELIERS DE FRANCE
More than 15 million spectators are expected to descend on Paris for the Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer, and they won't be there to see only the sporting events.
ON THE EARTH
On a bright, breezy afternoon at La Pelota in the heart of Milan-where Hermès holds its annual presentation every springBenoit Pierre Emery, the creative director of tableware, laid out a tray with pieces from the dinner service Tressages Équestres.
JAIN HANDICRAFTS OPENS A STORE IN AHMEDABAD, DESIGNED BY SAMIR WADEKAR, WITH A CURATED COLLECTION DRAWN FROM THEIR SEA OF ANTIQUES.
When Jain Handicrafts, a multigenerational family business dealing in period furniture and objets d'art, showcased their collection at the annual AD Design Show last year, they were amazed by the positive response they received from visitors.
MASTER WEAVER SHAMJI VANKAR TAKES A SLICE OF HIS CULTURE TO XTANT, A HERITAGE TEXTILE FESTIVAL HELD IN MALLORCA THIS SUMMER.
Art is made by a single individual for the enjoyment of another.
RITU KUMAR HOME'S LATEST TABLEWARE COLLECTION DRAWS FROM IKAT AND CHINTZ.
Ritu Kumar's home collections have always reflected her love for handlooms and Indian art forms. Be it intricate Mughal art or elaborate Kashmiri booti, the table linen, serveware and even glassware borrow from traditional motifs.
SIX DECADES SINCE ITS ORIGIN, BAREFOOT IN COLOMBO REMAINS DEDICATED TO LATE FOUNDER BARBARA SANSONI'S LOVE OF HANDLOOM.
Amid a kaleidoscope of colours in the upholstery section of Barefoot's store in Colombo, the rolls of material stand out for their vibrant variations of green.
