From the outside, ‘Yashman’ looks like a large, sprawling bungalow sprinkled generously with flowering plants and landscaped gardens. The long façade is deceptive - the property actually houses twin bungalows and is home to two brothers and their families. Architect Sunil Patil’s brief for this project in Kolhapur was to integrate two households in one, keeping the families connected yet providing them with their own independent space.
The first thing you notice about the house is its elegant, low-slung roof above a façade of Gokak stone. The stone has a beautiful violet tinge, which gives the pillars and the walls an unusual hue. Sunil Patil and Associates connected the two houses with a lobby that also serves as a canopy for the car-park near the entrance of the property. A large water cascade placed centrally between both houses is the focal point of the entire structure. Inside, in a nod to traditional homes, the living rooms, kitchen and dining areas are woven around a courtyard. Rocks, plants and water bodies bring a little bit of nature back into the house. The interiors have been deliberately kept simple so that the attention is focussed on the natural beauty outside.
