Forest Trails

For Lonavala-based architect Shabbir Unwala,buildings should be minimal and facilitate the experience of enjoying the beauty outside.

In the Jambulne forest deep within Lonavala,the trees grow so thick and close together that its hard to see past them. You almost miss spotting the little glass and wood building nestled among the foliage. The house sits there so inconspicuously,its as if it grew out of the earth,just like the trees around it. And thats exactly how architect Shabbir Unwala intended it to be.

One might assume that the word inconspicuous is not the most flattering compliment that can be given to an architect,but for Unwala,it means he has done his job perfectly. Buildings should be minimal,they should help you enjoy nature around you. They are more like a medium or a facilitator to enjoy the beauty that is outside, he says at an informal lecture organised at The Loft recently. His building in the Jambulne forest has been designed to replicate a machan or a tree house.

Once an architect with a Mumbai firm,Unwala found that his creativity was suppressed with the kind of work that he was doing. So he decided to set up his own firm in Lonavala. For three years,I had no work. I would go to the office and read Shakespeare. Then I finally got my break with a house in Lonavala itself. Now,I consider myself lucky because I build in Lonavala where people mostly want second homes, he says.

Another of his designs sits at the shore of Khadakvasla Lake and is a long,vertical strip of glass and wood that goes to the very edge of the lake. The house resembles a ships deck that is just out of the reach of the water below and Unwala says that every time it rains,some of the water comes in and it really does feel like youre on a ship.

When asked whether all his designs were equally audacious,he says,Architecture is a response to the site. When we see a masterpiece by Rambrandt or Picasso,we never do anything to change it. Why should we change natures masterpieces then? I only design houses that will add to the beauty of the location, he adds.

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