In the dense fabric of urban life, the absence of open spaces, generous living areas and a meaningful connection with nature often leads to the (sub)conscious act of retreating. This withdrawal from an undesirable environment—often physical, but also social, mental—represents a deliberate shift towards a space characterised by more favourable conditions that define individual and collective comfort. A retreat home as a distinct architectural typology embodies this shift, seeking to offer a sanctuary to rediscover part of what urban life so often denies—open spaces to breathe, expansive areas to unwind and a semblance of a connection with the natural.

Typologically, this binary of the built and the natural, and the perceived bridge between them through the architecture of the 'retreat', is manifested in a design deeply rooted in its context, reflecting the local culture, climate and environment. Using natural and sustainable materials, such as wood, stone and bamboo, reinforces this connection to place. Open and airy spaces, with features like large windows, courtyards and verandahs, facilitate an interaction with the surrounding or introduced landscape. A minimalist aesthetic—especially with respect to the singularity in material expression sans motif, and a judicious one at that—further defines the typology, favouring simple and uncluttered interiors to further evoke a sense of calm.

The Retreat Home in Surat, Gujarat is, in that sense, a quintessential retreat house—deeply connected to its geographic context with expansive open spaces and a ubiquitous presence of nature. At first glance, however, it evokes an image typified by the ‘luxury meets local’ resort architecture seen widely in the Western Ghats of India. At the entrance, one is confronted with a horizontal elevation—the earthiness of its context underscored with natural materials and pitched roofs clad in Mangalore tiles. Additionally, the cobbled hardscape, the parking foyer and the extended porch collectively create an impression codified to a resort check-in experience. 

Surat-based NEOGENESIS+STUDI0261 conceives the plan as a simple interpretation of residential architecture centred around a courtyard, scaled up to accommodate the owner’s extended family. Segregated spatially across two storeys in a near symmetric plan, the public spaces of the home envelop the courtyard on the ground floor, while the private spaces on the floor above look over the court. This segregation is also reflected in the elevation, where the ground floor is articulated to be seen as a solid base of rubble masonry construction in Rujula stone, while the first floor is constructed with exposed brick walls on the exterior.

A north-south orientation, combined with a courtyard design—an image emblematic (on paper, at least) of the idea of vernacular Indian architecture—facilitates cross ventilation across the site, ensuring the interiors are naturally illuminated and well-ventilated. The elements of the building respond to the local climate and context, featuring sloping roofs and a timber trellis that blocks the intense southwestern sun, while deep-set windows in the cavity walls function as shading elements. Expansive doors and windows frame lavish interior volumes, offering visual connections to the greenery outside of every room. The spatial arrangement in the interior of the house, complete with its open courtyard, airy volumes, visual connection to greens and a touch of contextually rooted elements in the design, contrasts sharply with the 'external' impression conveyed at first glance, making the structure, in fact, embody the essence of a retreat home.

The colonnaded passage enveloping the square courtyard on four sides, serves as the threshold that separates (or unites) the material and the natural world. Its liminality is expressed through an inherent duality. As the nexus as well as path to all destinations within the home, it remains omnipresent despite its transient, fleeting nature. Generously open and spacious (quite evocative of the resort aesthetic, again), the passage’s understated material palette of exposed concrete and kota stone highlights the interplay between the ephemeral and the enduring, as well as between the humble and the proud. The passages on the upper floor and transitional spaces like verandahs and outdoor seating areas continue the spatial duality, maintaining visual connections to the courtyard and the 'nature' it ensconces while preserving a sense of separation between the interior and exterior, inviting observation even when physical engagement may not be possible.

The landscape design, too, reflects this duality—sometimes restrained, as a solitary tree stands at the centre of the courtyard and, at other times, seemingly untamed as it climbs up the walls. Both the hard and soft landscaping elements intervene with the thresholds throughout the house, marking dramatic transitions while introducing textures that engage the senses as one moves through different spaces. Designed to resonate with the tropical context, the landscape architecture features endemic plant species that tend to visually take over the built form, offering the building a chance to also age in harmony with nature.

At Retreat Home, individual elements come together to form a cohesive space that looks to facilitating a 'retreat'. The complex duality of the thresholds, the abundance of the landscape, the tactility of the edge conditions and the generous expanses of shared and private spaces renders a building whose sum of individual architectural elements comes out to be greater than the whole.

Project Details

Name: Retreat House
Location: Surat, Gujarat, India
Typology: Residential
Architect: NEOGENESIS+STUDI0261
Design Team: Heta Patel, Prachi Jariwala, Nilufer Contractor, Dhruvi Bhatt
Site Area: 57720 sq. m.
Gross Built Area: 4386 sq. m.
Year of Completion: 2024