An Island… On Land

Scattered over a steeply sloped site at Raaya near Eklingji, Udaipur, these bungalows respond to the location even as they offer infinite permutationsin their configuration, through their modular nature. Art & Architecture Associates maximise the views to the horizon through their design for theseluxury bungalows with a micro resort setting.

- Devyani Jayakar

After a short drive from Udaipur airport, the breath-taking views at Raaya confirm the geography lessons which one imbibed unquestioningly in high school. Yes, the world is indeed round – evidence offered by the horizon which curves gently in the far distance, wherever you turn to look. How often is it possible to enjoy a view where you are seated in all the comforts of civilisation – but with a view which gives no indication of the existence of any other living creatures? Valleys unfurl at your feet, while wooded hills fade into the far distance, beyond which the sun rises and sets as from the beginning of time.

Dharam Patel, principal architect of Art & Architecture Associates has utilised the natural slopes of this vast site at Raaya so adroitly, that it appears that you are master of all you survey. Consisting of several independent bungalows, the location benefits from the tourist destination it is proximal to, as well as its heritage status. It is situated on the undulating landscape of the Aravalli hills, near Eklingji, Rajasthan. The bungalows are spread over 300 acres, with the built area covering a mere six per cent of the land. With this kind of built to unbuilt ratio, little wonder that it appears one is in a private world, with no other civilisation in sight. ‘Each plot is not just a plot…it is an “island” on land,’ says Dharam.