Stay!...Cation

By respecting the site and treating animal comfort as the design lodestar, architectural firm F+S Designs create a first-of-its-kind pet boarding — Petcart Nest — in a two-acre property in suburban Bengaluru.

- Rupali Sebastian

When it comes to love that is real, stable and forgiving, dogs are strong contenders for the top spot. Increasingly, Indian families are now including four-legged members as part of a complete pack. In the country’s metros, however, where is the space for our children to play — let alone canine companions to romp? But that’s changed — at least in Bengaluru, with Nilendu Maiti and Shekhar Gaonkar, promoters of Petcart.com — which specializes in pet care and pet food for dogs, cats and birds — and their pet boarding on the outskirts of the Garden City. Having known architect Faisal Vohra of F+S Designs, which he helms along with architect Shamila Meeran, they naturally turned to him for expert advice. Thus began a collaboration over a one-of-its-kind ‘pet resort’, Petcart Nest.

The plot chosen by the clients lay amidst open fields and mango orchards, calm, serene and a treat to the eye. “It was a surreal experience to see the site at first. The two-acre plot is naturally tiered in three levels across 30-feet in total, and the entire land mass is elevated compared to the surrounding area which allows us to see as far as the horizon on the eastern side. Just beyond the site boundary on the eastern side, are beautiful mango orchards. At the lowest level of the site was a dried pond about 15-feet deep which we decided to revive. There were two large trees on the second tier of land which we wanted to retain and the estate was designed around them,” recollects Faisal.