Farmhouse in Kamshet
Kamshet, India
2019 – Ongoing

Located at the foothills of the Western ghats, the site is a 22-acre farmland in Kamshet, a small village on the old highway between Mumbai and Pune. The expansive land sits at the edge of the Indrayani river and floods during heavy monsoon rains. At the heart of the site, the main farmhouse is composed of loosely arranged volumes around a central courtyard, elevated on a stone podium and unified by an expansive timber roof clad in handmade country tiles. The five-bedroom home includes living, study, dining, and kitchen spaces, woven together by open passages and verandas. Realised with skilled artisans and craftsmen the home is built with locally sourced bricks, reclaimed teakwood, basalt masonry, and traditional wooden joinery.

Adjacent to the main house, a four-bedroom guest house reflects the same design language, offering privacy while maintaining a cohesive architectural vocabulary. A farm building, nestled among fruit orchards, serves as a space for outdoor cooking, communal dining, and engaging with the seasonal produce for a farm-to-table experience.

The landscape, designed in collaboration with Andy Hamilton, is an integrated system to divert the water and make the land both inhabitable and more productive for agriculture. Lower-lying areas of the site have been transformed into paddy fields, utilizing the natural topography and monsoon water flow. Overlooking these fields is a wellness pavilion, a quiet retreat for yoga, massage, and fitness, providing a meditative connection to the cultivated landscape. Toward the site's entrance, a dense forest plantation acts as a natural buffer from the nearby highway, creating a serene approach and a sense of transition into the landscape.

Reflecting a holistic approach to design that fuses architecture, ecology, and craftsmanship, the farmstead creates a living experience that is both respectful of its agrarian and natural context while simultaneously attuned to the comforts of contemporary family life.