TERRA PAVILION

IS A STARK STRUCTURE OF EXPOSED CONCRETE AND GLASS, BUILT AS A SUSTAINABLE, RESTFUL SANCTUARY IN A WINDING FORESTED EXPANSE OUTSIDE OF AHMEDABAD, DESIGNED BY KHUSH NU PANTHAKI HOOF AND SÖNKE HOOF OF STUDIO SANGATH.

- SRIDEVI NAMBIAR

Forty kilometres outside Ahmedabad, Sameer and Hemangini Sinha’s farmhouse stands amidst gentle sloped grounds and a winding forested expanse. It is a stark structure of exposed concrete and glass. “I have always liked the kind of architecture imagined by people like Tadao Ando. The very straight-lined, bare and contemporary style of architecture,” Sameer says. He is the founder of the Savvy Group, among Gujarat’s foremost sustainable and green construction companies, which has also built Kensville, the 900-acre golf course and residential development that the farmhouse is situated on.

Hemangini, his wife, is a former technocrat who transitioned to farming upon returning to Ahmedabad after a decade in the US. Her food-tech start-up Khet se Plate seeks to revive local, ethical and sustainable farming practices, and offers seasonal, organic and artisanal prod ucts ranging from homemade flavoured cheeses to minimally processed packs of flour.

What they sought with the home is a sanctuary away from the city, rooted in its surroundings and deeply connected to the earth. Called Terra Pavilion, the home is built to complement the natural contours of the landscape, looking out to the 6th and 7th fairways of the golf course. “It is seated on a slope. And as we wished for, it is a very straight, clean building that maximizes the views,” says Sameer.