The Jewel Box

Project: Glass House 91/ Oh Precious, Alibaug Architects: MuseLAB, Mumbai

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With not a hint of what lies beyond, you walk up to an image of yourself reflected in a champagne mirror standing freely in a bamboo grove. As the sleek surface swings open, you step through the delicate portal frame and you are given your first view of the striking structure nestled between earth, foliage and water. Located in Alibaug, this home designed in collaboration with Pavan Anand, is akin to a jewel box, a modern design juxtaposed with ornamentation. The first step you take toward the home along the black kadappa pathway are aglow with the warmth of the fire pit smouldering along your left. The linear form of the home is reflected in the quiet blue waters of the pool as it transparently unveils itself to all that look upon it, or so it seems.

The structure houses three bedrooms, a powder bath and the living room downstairs, and a master bedroom with an attached terrace upstairs, packed neatly into its slender form. The structural columns are all internalised within these spaces such that the exterior is an uninterrupted glass box that allows for complete transparency.