A SANCTUARY OF ONE'S OWN

Building a cave-like sanctuary for his family of three, Anand Deshmukh, principal architect at Mind Manifestation, skillfully designs a brutalist-style home surrounded by hills amidst the city of Pune

- ELA DAS 

This is the first home I’ve bought—it was a bare shell unit, which was the perfect canvas for me to explore my design abilities with utmost creative freedom,” says Anand Deshmukh, principal architect at Pune-based firm Mind Manifestation (co-founded by Chetan Lahoti), when recalling what it was like to work on this space which he fondly calls his urban cave. Nestled amidst the city of Pune, surrounded by a range of hills on three sides, the 1,200 sq ft apartment displays strikingly broody brutalism while feeling remarkably soothing— like a cocoon to escape to from city life. Taking what he describes as a functionalist approach to design each room in a minimalist way, he chose a monochromatic muted palette of greys and black to give the place a sense of connection with the rugged terrain across it.