Nannilam is an upcoming Eco Farm Community Living project in Kalrayan Hills. The project consists of participatory community agriculture units in 100 acres along with a research station in 25 acres, which will startup centre and collaborative engagement to promote agriculture, horticulture, farm and dairy products. The project will also be a sustainable development centre which will showcase and promote sustainable architecture and construction methods, sustainable lifestyle products and alternative energy. The investors, partners and visitors can experience farm visits, petting zoo, dairy training, pickle & jam making, walking & trekking trails, fishing, star gazing, camping, fire-pit story-telling, yoga, meditation etc. Facilities will include an eco-shop, eco-lodges, e-cottages, eco-villas, natural pool, community kitchen etc.
Tag Archives: Eco-friendly Communities
Prakriti Aawaas – Eco Community Kochi
Prakriti Aawaas is an Eco Community villa project at Kakkanad, Cochin. Set in prime urban location, the masterplan carefully carves out an eco-sensitive project in the valley. Keeping the green-mosaic as the primary concept, the layout is developed with clusters of villas engulfed in the greenery. Ample yards around the villas allow organic vegetable gardens to be developed in the backside. The villas are set around a large central courtyard, which contains club and swimming pool.
Villa’s habitable spaces are designed around a courtyard. Simple and effective planning ensures minimum wastage of space. All rooms are provided with ample daylight and ventilation. Several features such as exposed brick walls, stone masonry, courtyard, terrace garden, organic vegetable garden, bay windows, verandas & balconies with Karaekudy wooden pillars and timber truss roof etc provide unique experience or natural materials and local traditions.
For more details contact Prakriti Aawaas
Brooklyn Estates Eastern Ghats
This private guest house is designed in the picturesque Brooklyn coffee estates in Yercaud. The sloping topography and lush green estate demanded a minimalistic approach to design, where buildings are mere shelters. The challenge was to reduce the elements of design so that the building lose its character and give more importance to the surrounding landscape. Flat concrete slabs float above tiny metal columns. The inside and outside merge as large sliding windows connect them physically and visually. An attempt to design with nature to create spaces that are memorable landscapes.
Wild Orchid Estates – Eco Community Yercaud
The Wild Orchid Estates sits on a naturally beautiful, gently sloping terrain of Yercaud. Flanged by coffee estates and forest lands, this property is lush green and blessed with plenty of large trees and variety of plants. Wild Orchid Estates is planned in 75 acres of land. This is planned as a eco-community project with members owning estate acres along with holiday homes. The project is planned with all common facilities for passive and active recreation. Plantation crops of coffee and aromatic plants are preserved and enhanced. Landscape of the campus become the unifying and unique feature of the project, which attempts to exhibit the genius of the eastern ghats. The public areas are treated with such finesse giving an international and yet natural feel.
Luxury & Eco-friendly holiday villas of Wild Orchid were designed with minimum ecological footprint. The design incorporated a seamless blend between indoor and outdoor spaces. The buildings were designed in such a way that none of the trees were cut while setting them, the placement followed the contours. Spaces such as decks, patios, verandas and balconies connected the inside spaces with external courtyards and further with surrounding nature.
Leisure Club, Wild Orchid Yercaud
Club Orchid is part of the Wild Orchid eco-friendly community project at Yercaud. The large vertical garden and roof garden features merges the club building with the surrounding hill-side landscape. The building is designed with minimum facade and maximum inside volume, an approach opposite to most conemporary concepts. The building’s aesthetics is given least visibility, while the interior spaces seamlessly connects with the valley in front, through large glazed walls, patios and semi-covered spaces.
The club consists of yoga hall, SPA, organic restaurant, home-theater, heritage echo-music room, library, infinity pool etc. Catering to the luxury holiday property of wild orchid, the club is designed with trendy eco-features. Rustic stone walls are built with inside-lit moon-quartz stones. The flooring varies from wood, natural stones, oxide finish etc. A building which is difficult to describe and a pleasure to experience.
Wellness Centre & Gardens – Teakayen Ecofarms Kodai Hills
Ekantha wellness centre is designed as part of the Common Facilities for the upcoming Teakayen Estates eco-friendly community project in Kodaikanal. Idea Design developed the master plan for the luxury holiday project. The central part of the master plan is the Wellness Centre and Wellness Gardens. Every aspect of the design of wellness centre speaks of eco-sensitive and sustainable approach. Each of the eight wings of the lotus carries unique functional element of human wellness. Developed in the setting of one of the largest organic farms of peninsular India, organic Kitchen, yoga hall, meditation centre, naturopathic wellness, ayurvedic wellness and a wellness lecture hall etc become components of this centre. Wellness Gardens give a therapeutic and rejuvenate experience to the visitors.
Club House & Gardens – Teakayen Ecofarms Kodai Hills
Teakayen is an Eco Farm Community at Kodai Hills. The club house is set at an attractive location by the side of a large man made reservoir, looking into the outstanding mountainous landscapes. The club house is designed with minimalistic and modern approach of steel and glass, that absorb the view of the beautiful public gardens and reservoir along with faraway misty mountains in the backdrop.
Atisaya Wellness Retreat, Yercaud
Atisaya retreat is a project envisaged around a century old British Bungalow in Yercaud. Compact and modern lifestyle cottages are planned around green patches of gardens. Seamless connect between interior and exterior spaces through patios, verandas and gardens make it a haven for inmates.
The theme for the resort is based on wellness and healthy living. The layout has an Ayurvedic Spa and Kitchen which serves organic food. Jogging tracks, passive and active recreation facilities, spaces for yoga, meditation etc. aims at holistic wellness.
Earthscape, nature living at Kumily
Living earth is a nature living project in the Cardamom Hills of western ghats. An eco-sensitive approach to carve out living spaces in the canvas of tall and wild trees, spice plantations and breathtaking surroundings. Trails are made without disturbing a single tree, paved with stabilized mud-paths. Drainage swales are made of reused terracotta tiles. Cottages use dry-rubble masonry for retaining walls and foundations. Stabilized and rammed earth walls for super-structure and mountain grass for roofs. Rustic interiors, oxide floors and robust wooden furniture. Zero use of concrete is maintained throughout the project. Climate allows for a low energy footprint.
Villa Project at Kalapetty
This is a Villa Project designed in Kalapetty in a rich colonial architectural style. The design of villas feature very compact planning, while achieving good productivity and style for eco-friendly sub-urban living. Envisaged as an eco-friendly community, this project is set to become model for fringe cities.
Farm Retreat, Sembarankulam
This project is located in a remote and serene location at Sembarankulam on the Western Ghats. The first phase consisted of developing an organic farm in 100 acres of land. The farm is one of the largest organic farms in southern india supplying organic vegetables to select shops and bulk-buyers in Chennai and Bangalore. Ecological site planning encompassing several large reservoirs has ensured most-effective water-harvesting & soil conservation and at the same time, adding aesthetic appeal to the organic farm.
The Farm retreat project is located in 5 acres of land right in the middle of the organic farm. The project is conceived as 100% prefabricated construction technique, using Tata Bluescope’s ‘eazy-build & smart-build’ options for the shell and Gyproc for the interiors. As the project is in remote location, it was very difficult to find skilled-labour for construction. The pre-fab approach proved to be eco-friendly, cost-effective and time-saving.
Good Earth, Kottayam
A housing project on the sloping terrains in the midlands of Kottayam. A steeply sloping site of 8 Acres with access at several levels, site planning held the key for the entire development. Promoted by eco-friendly builders, the project was carried out with lush green landscape planned for the the entire project area. The blocks are designed to bring a unique character to the entire housing complex. The slopes were negotiated by split level planning and thus maintaining the natural landscape intact as much as possible. Planned to have a water harvesting system based on a lake planned in the central green space.
Milgram Dairy Valley, Vandiperiyar
This is a unique project planned 600 acres of plantation hills in Vandiperiyar. The project while preserving its essential farming component (mostly tea, along with coffee, cardamom and other spices), converts the entire farm land to 200 virtual dairy farm units of 1Ha and 20 Cows each owned by investors.
The joint management will continue the plantation activity along with developing joint milking parlors for the cows owned by investors and the company, creating one of the largest cattle farms in India. Being located in Vandiperiyar on the Western Ghats (near Thekkady), this project attracts many tourists. Plantation and farm visits are the major tourism attractions in this otherwise stunning landscape. The task involved land planning for Dairy Farm Units and overall Landscape Planning. (Status: Unbuilt)