House in a Beach Garden
The House in a Beach Garden used to be segregated from its seafront by a tall boundary wall. It separated the property both physically and visually from the much coveted coastline of the Mumbai bay. All demolition material was re-used to raise the garden, such that the house, the garden and the top of the boundary wall, were all aligned in one level. Despite the earth fill surrounding the trees, our team was able to retain them. Since conical brick wells surround the base of the trees, and keep the earth away, they can continue to breathe. It prevents them from being suffocated. Simple tree gratings made of leftover rebars, prevent those wells from becoming dangerous pits.
The entrance is through the wide 4-metre-deep verandah that opens to the garden and the ocean beyond.