Isha Homes
Riverfront

- 90,000 sqft

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- Nandambakkam

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- Ongoing

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On the banks of the Adyar River, a dead-end road leads to the site. Small homes surround it, while three sides of the property open out to views, vistas and the landscape beyond.

 

The initial battle was with the developer and landowner, who wanted the project to be a collection of individual blocks. This is something we have never been particularly comfortable with. We have always believed that the spaces between buildings are as important as the buildings themselves.

 

The journey was long, made even longer by delays related to land documentation. During this period, the developer had seen several projects with landscaped podiums and began to consider a different possibility.

 

So, we went back to the drawing board.

 

We gave them the blocks they wanted, but placed them on a common podium—a shared landscape where residents could come together. This allowed us to significantly reduce the area devoted to vehicular movement and turn almost all the setbacks into green spaces, except the front setback.

 

Gardens were introduced across the floors, breaking away from the enclosed, poorly lit and poorly ventilated common spaces that are so often a part of housing projects. Here, nature would gradually take over, changing the character and emotion of these spaces with time.

 

Much of what we proposed was new to both the clients and the team. New ideas are often met with resistance. But, somehow, better sense prevailed.

 

The project has now struck ground.

 

We hope the opportunities we have created will be embraced and enjoyed by those who will inhabit this place. And, over time, that the landscape and the people who live here will give it a life of its own.