Hasta La Ideas

Matra Architects has used precast slabs of textured white concrete to clad a house formed of three interconnected pavilions set high above a lake in Udaipur, India.

Named K Residence, the house is perched nine metres above Fateh Sagar Lake and was designed to complement its historic surroundings.

Udaipur is famous for its artificial lakes and beautiful temples and palaces topped by white marble pinnacles and domes.

“The K Residence is a reflection on the genius loci and the larger idea of integrating the aesthetics of a modern building into the fragile historical urban ecology,” said Matra Architects.

At dawn and dusk the light reflects off the lakes and the marble buildings.

The textured white concrete cladding and slim square columns along the facade were chosen to echo these existing architectural elements.

Three parallel two-storey pavilions are connected by glass corridors to form K Residence.

All three structures are orientated to maximise views of the lake and the Aravalli mountain range beyond.

The entrance is behind a gate, with a road leading round to the side and steps cut into the terrace leading straight through the garden.

At ground level, an entrance lobby at the end of the middle, medium sized pavilion opens onto a vestibule leading to the house’s prayer room.

A dining room and a family living room occupy the other end of this middle pavilion. To the right, the smallest pavilion is reached via a glass link corridors.

This pavilion is entirely occupied by a formal living room and surrounded on two sides by a covered and colonnaded verandah overlooking landscaped gardens.

At the back, the longest pavilion at ground floor houses an office and kitchen, also reached by a glazed corridor.

A bedroom with a walk-in wardrobe and strong room sits across another verandah from a separate en suite bedroom.

Upstairs, this longest pavilion has two more ensuite bedrooms positioned either side of a sheltered terrace. Servant’s quarters and a maid’s room also occupy this level.

A fifth bedroom, the master suite, occupies the entire top floor of the middle pavilion, with a study at one end and a balcony with views of the lake at the other.

The smallest pavilion is topped by a deck with different seating areas. Large windows, glazed links and skylights are strategically placed to make the most of the daylight whatever the season.

Terraced gardens take up half of the site and display the owner’s extensive sculpture collection.

Matra Architects also recently completed a holiday home in the foothills of the Himalayas that features an open plan interior over stepped levels with panoramic views.

Photography is by Ankit Jain.

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