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LAKE HOUSE

The Lakehouse is a private retreat designed as a space for entertaining, and as a respite from urban life. Located on a steeply sloped and rocky site overlooking the Durgam Cheruvu Lake in Hyderabad, the property is embedded in the heart of the city while still feeling completely removed. Due to its topography, the site has prime views across the water to a nature preserve and the contrasting density of the distant HiTec City — a 150-acre tech park that has become a prominent part of the urban landscape. Contrary to the standard architectural response in Hyderabad to fill, level and clear the site, the Lakehouse hovers above the ground, allowing the natural terrain to become a celebrated focus of the architectural experience.

LOCATION
Hyderabad, India

DESIGN TEAM
Cyrus Patell, Amandine Romanet, Eliza Higgins, Divya Shetty

PROGRAM
Weekend Home

STATUS
Completed 2019

BRICK HOUSE

Located in a major tech suburb of Bangalore, that until 15 years ago was open farmland, this project strives to create a quiet retreat for a young family of five in an otherwise densely populated and unplanned community. Constructed on the foundation of a small brick house that the family had outgrown, the new design builds off of the existing palette and angled plinth to create a personal narrative of open and interconnected spaces that challenge the standard assumptions of load-bearing brick construction. Using hand-moulded table bricks with natural variations, this project celebrates the imperfection of the material and the manner in which it is laid.

LOCATION
Bangalore, India

DESIGN TEAM
Cyrus Patell, Eliza Higgins, Prakash Uthappa, Akash Moish, Nandan Kelotra

PROGRAM
Private Residence

STATUS
Completed 2018

EKYA EARLY YEARS

Ekya Early Years: Kanakapura Road reconceives an abandoned watch factory and overgrown two-acre site into a lush, colourful and immersive environment for learning. Designed as an exclusive preschool for both Montessori and Kindergarten environments, the new design capitalises on the beauty of an old industrial building, repurposing the existing shell as a framework for spacious, naturally ventilated and sunlight filled classrooms The primary goal of this project was to provide a constant interaction between students and nature; a design requirement of the Montessori brief and an ever rarer experience within the rapidly growing city.

LOCATION
Bangalore, India

DESIGN TEAM
Cyrus Patell, Eliza Higgins, Ajantha S, Grégoire Rossignol

PROGRAM
Boutique Montessori and Kindergarten

STATUS
Completed 2014

GARDEN FOLLY

This project transforms an unused 15’ x 50’ extension to a single family residential plot into a densely planted garden and personal library. Designed as a private and secluded retreat from daily life, the pavilion was conceptualized as an inhabitable piece of furniture bridging a lush and naturalistic landscape. Accessed by a separate entrance from the street, the existing ground plane was excavated to create a sunken path lined in local black granite. The shift in levels combined with dense planting provides acoustic separation and visual privacy from the neighbouring city.

LOCATION
Bangalore, India

DESIGN TEAM
Cyrus Patell, Eliza Higgins

PROGRAM
Sunken Garden Landscape + Library Pavilion

STATUS
Completed 2014