Goa: Astronomy and architecture combine inside this heavenly home

Fiery red laterite, brick and blazing brass meld together to offer a tribute to the sun at this ethereal Goan villa designed by SAV Architecture + Design
Goa Astronomy and architecture combine inside this heavenly home
This villa in Goa is an expansive property that highlights important sustainable practices

In India's favourite beach state, Goa, the local architecture is at an interesting cusp—architectural activists are campaigning to preserve the centuries-old Indo-Portuguese villas that are falling into ruin, but on the other hand, the same awe-inspiring beauty of these historic builds can be equally intimidating to experimental young architects who want to play around with avant-garde designs in the burgeoning tourist hotspot.

Goa | New-Age Design

But Sol, a refreshingly different villa, is the brainchild of design-centric developer, Kriss Real Estate and was executed by Amita Kulkarni, Founding Partner and Principal Architect, SAV Architecture + Design. It is part of the Si-oul project, a trilogy of futuristic homes inspired by astronomy. Also known as the Sun House, Sol is located in the heart of Siolim village, a coveted alcove connecting to Goa's most secluded beaches like Vagator and Morjim.

Metal screens dominate the design of this home

Goa | Astronomical Architecture

As its name suggests, Sol aptly encapsulates the beauty of the sun with its exposed geometric patterned walls and polygonal metal screens. The interiors come etched in gravel, turf and red laterite, and offer a kaleidoscopic spectrum of texture and ambience. The warm palette including brick and wood mirror the home's solar theme. Its curved hallways and fluid layout further resonate with celestial connectivity. Several features like sun-roofs, glass-inlaid floors, and artfully open areas make the unfolding ambience an absolute adventure. The home is conversely juxtaposed with trees running through the courtyards in an attempt to fuse the natural landscape seamlessly with clean lines and subdued elegance of the stellar space.

Sun-roofs, glass-inlaid floors, and artfully open areas constitute the interiors

Goa | Design Details

The 5381-square-feet(500-square-metres) holiday home is owned by a Mumbai-based restaurateur and his wife, who is a contemporary artist. The driveway leads to a small patio and the entrance that opens into a sweeping hallway marked by the home's signature feature—a double height ceiling wall that is fitted with locally sourced materials assembled in a sculptural, geometric pattern. A linear water body complemented by vertical, low-hanging light installations plays upon the idea of sun beams or solar flares. Open rise wooden stairs stretch above the water body, reinforcing the notion of floating and ascension associated with orbital, celestial bodies.

Goa | Heavenly Home

The entrance hallway curves as it follows the wall into a sunken living room. The dip in this space pronounces the home's double height ceiling, maximising space. The scaling effect is amplified by a custom tesseracting ceiling light, space-specific furniture and the curated placement of a stunning fibreglass sculpture by Tarpan Patel. The kitchen features both a closeted wet cooking space and open dry kitchen area. A private bar and an intimate dining area flow out of the living room towards an expansive swimming pool, separated by high glass doors spanning one side of the living room wall.

Goa | Private Spaces

There are two bedrooms on the ground floor. A second living space is strewn with family photographs and fibre glass sculptures. Upstairs, the home features a circular layout with an adjacent hallway with sweeping passages that circle the bedrooms, including a master bedroom with an airy balcony overlooking the pool, which connects seamlessly to the main hallway and stairs as well.

Goa | Sunny but Breezy

In Goa's tropical summer heat, the Bauhaus and Geoffrey Bawa-inspired villa features several cooling and shading design hacks to help moderate the temperature naturally. By aligning the sun and wind paths, the villa has been crafted with its own microclimate to keep one comfortable no matter the weather. Through an intensive collaboration between experienced design and engineering teams, Sol was fashioned to integrate the cooling characteristics of natural elements like surrounding foliage and the Chapora river that runs adjacent to the property. “Locally-sourced laterite walls on the southern facade allow for cooler temperatures within the house. All the large glazing is located on the northern directions since this receives the least amount of direct sunlight and heat,” says Kulkarni.

The villa is enveloped with greenery

Goa | Green Elements

The eco-conscious architecture is also equipped with water-efficient plumbing fixtures and renewable energy sources such as rain-water harvesting roofs and solar-panels. “We believe for architecture to be powerful, we need to key elements that don't overburden the experience. To be poetic; to be beautifully evocative; to be something that represents more than the sum of all its things. Can a house have emotions? Can architecture be more than simply a structure? Can space be more than its physical dimensions? Can luxury be more about experience than about things? These were some of the questions we thought from the beginning and while making the Sun House,” says Kulkarni, describing her design process.