Last week the beautifully restored Reis Magos Fort was opened for public. Below are some pictures. The highlights are the fort's pristine condition post-restoration, its siting and views. I love the feel and texture of laterite stone with whitewashed walls, clay tile roofs and wild greenery, all aspects that I believe are so quintessential to Goa.

The fort is located on a hill and accessed through a ramp and two narrow staircases, all executed in beautiful laterite masonry. Laterite is the local stone and most common building material used in Goa.

I write this post while hoping that we can continue to maintain this treasure and not let it once again fall into disrepair and neglect.

Country tile roofs of the building inside the fort walls

Gorgeous earthy central courtyard

View of Reis Magos church and cemetary from the highest point of the fort 

View of the river Mandovi from the fort

Narrow stairs leading to the fort will beautiful terraces below

Fort wall with lookout station

We recently crossed another project milestone by completing the first design stage documentation towards the Green Homes certification awarded by the Indian Green Building Council

We are targeting the gold level certification and will be among the first green certified homes in Goa.

Some of Nivim's main green features are listed below. We will try to do detailed write-ups on some of these in future posts.

Trees and preserving site’s unique features

– Our project site had 14 existing trees before construction and we preserved these trees and incorporated them in our design. The design also retains nearly 35-40% of the site as natural landscape. New landscape is planted with majority local species to have minimal need for irrigation water use.

Building orientation and design

– The main house building is oriented with the longer façade facing North-South to minimize direct sun exposure on east and west where the sun is lower increasing heat absorption. Ample shading devices have been planned to further reduce sun exposure and heat intake.

Daylighting and cross ventilation

 – 100% of living spaces are designed to be adequately day lit with ample shading and openings for cross ventilation. This eliminates the need for any artificial lighting or mechanical cooling during the day saving energy use and providing healthy indoor air quality.

Energy

 – 100% use of solar power for water heating. Use of 3-star energy efficient refrigerator (40%less energy use) and 5-star rated air-conditioners (25% less energy use). Use of solar control glass on east and west façade to reduce heat absorption to indoors.

Cool Roof

– 75% of roof is finished with highly reflected material to reflect sun’s heat thus help in maintaining lower temperature in living areas below.

Two openable walls per room provides 100% daylighting and cross ventilation

Water

 – We are collecting 50% of rainwater runoff from the roof and storing it for future use for landscaping and for swimming pool use. Prioritized use of low-flow fixtures in the bathrooms saving 30% of water without having any impact on perceived flow of water and use. We are treating 100% of our grey water* on-site to be used for landscaping thus further reducing pressure on municipal water resources.

* Grey water is all water from bathrooms and kitchen drainage except water from the toilets. Grey water is filtered on-site through a root zone water treatment system.

Permeable paving

– 75% of site’s paved surfaces are built using permeable paving to allow maximum percolation of rain water back into the ground.

Construction Materials

– Use of over 50% building material from within 500kms of the site to reduce embodied energy spent in transporting materials over long distances. Encouraged reuse of salvaged building material as well as building material with high recycled content such as fly-ash bricks, fly-ash cement, recycled tetrapak boards, aluminum and reclaimed wood. Reducing the use of cement** in construction by building load bearing walls and filler slabs. 

**Cement production is known to produce large quantities of greenhouse gases, for every ton of cement produced one ton of GHGs are released in the atmosphere. GHGs are known to be the leading cause for climate change. Read more here.

Low VOC paints

–Use of low VOC external and internal paint to reduce exposure to hazardouschemicals to humans.

List of green certified buildings in India, http://www.igbc.in/site/igbc/certifiedbuilding.jsp

I am not the type to be much into celebrity homes... but this one caught my eye primarily because its theme is so similar to our own at NIVIM Goa. The house is designed to connect the indoors with the outdoors and provide a peaceful space to escape, inspire and celebrate with family and friends.

Courtney Cox's home was the cover feature in Elle Decor, US Edition, July/ August 2011. All photo are courtesy of Elle Decor Online. See link.

The house is located in Malibu. One of the architects for the house says that 'Malibu is all about being outdoors'. Exactly the same in Goa...

The article talks about how the house looks out over the deck and pool and beyond. The architects designed the spaces with a sense of openness with glass walls that flood the rooms with light. The glass doors, once opened, makes one feel like they are completely outside. 

The result is a space that is chic and unquestionably luxurious, yet earthy, cozy and unpretentious... Its interiors were kept neutral and bare that keeps the focus on the outdoors. 

Sounds familiar doesn't it !! Read about our efforts to design NIVIM to seamlessly connect the indoors with outdoors. See link. 

It is not a surprise that the concepts in the house above and our efforts are so similar. In my mind, there is a distinct vocabulary for building in the country. It stems from the underlying reason for people to choose to live in the country, clearly to 'reconnect with nature'. And with that concept in mind, the architecture has to be as much about the outdoors as indoor, if not more. We are loving our journey to give NIVIM its special character built around its site and surroundings. The house as a result is shaping up to be quite fabulous and heart warming. I promise updated pictures soon.

Living area adjacent to the kitchen

Sit-out with large glass walls

Master bedroom that becomes a part of its deck and views beyond

Outdoor bar and galley kitchen

Earthy bathrooms

The entrance alcove dictates the the earthy and natural style of the house

The pool and deck looking over to the sea

Outdoor dining

Undeniably the most precious space in the house, a pavilion set into the scenery with seating around a fireplace. As per the article, Courtney Cox has her coffee here everyday...I can see why !

After food, fashion and art, finally I move on to architecture, clearly my favorite indulgence...During my short last visit to New York, I had the opportunity to hear two great architects talk about their work in the recent years, Enrique Norten from Ten Arquitectos and Charles Renfro from Diller Scofidio + Renfro.

Images of One York Street in New York designed by Enrique Norten

Enrique Norten is a Mexican architect with several design awards under his belt. I have always admired his building - One York Street in TriBeCa in New York (We have at one point seriously considered living in it too !!). The building incorporates and rises out of two 19th Century industrial loft buildings. I love the way the new building has a distinct identity but did not demolish the old buildings or start from scratch to achieve that distinction. The building while preserving the old, still manages to look extremely contemporary and modern. One York is located at a busy street intersection and in between 3-4 neighborhoods. The building does a great job of providing a fitting landmark at this junction without being gimmicky. It is just a piece of very good and slick architecture.

We have spoken about Diller Scofidio + Renfro on this blog before as they are the visionary designers of the magnificent High Line. As a side note, Diane von Furstenburg who we spoke of earlier (Part I of this series of posts) is one of the largest benefactors of the High Line project and occupies a sexy building right next to the rail line. (Read about it

 here 

). It is an old warehouse with a contemporary steel and glass addition on the top. This rooftop addition houses DVF's bedroom. The funky building has a quirky mural on a 3-storey high side wall (a clever piece of branding, I say) and is also lit up in multicolors after-dark.

DVF's live-work loft with the rooftop glass addition along the High Line in NY (

Photo Credit

)

Rooftop addition at DVF's live-work warehouse along the High Line in NY 

Charles Renfro spoke about the firm's constant effort to integrate public space into their buildings. Examples include the new Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, where they integrated the public harborwalk into the building by carving out a public amphitheater space at the ground level of the building; the Image and Audio Museum in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil where they have designed the front elevation as a public ramp-way that takes people up to the building allowing a user to look into the building, its exhibits and activities; and the addition to the Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in New York, where they sliced the building to create a public amphitheater seating while exposing the studio spaces providing a barrier free view from the street, once again making the public a part of the building and its activities and vic-a-versa.

Very inspirational out-of-the-box thinking... I love them for slicing and dicing the buildings while dissecting the conventional concept and perception of particular building. Admire them for their ability to step back from the obvious and give each building a new identity. Applaud them blurring the lines between private and public; and making buildings open up to the city.

The Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston by Diller Scofidio + Renfro (

Photo Credit

)

The proposed Image and Audio Museum at Rio de Janiero, Brazil (

Photo Credit

)

The proposed Image and Audio Museum at Rio de Janiero, Brazil (

Photo Credit

)

Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in New York (

Photo Credit

)

YUMMM !! Six different Bagels with six different toppings (above) and fried Montanara pizza (below) 

Just returned from a quick whirlwind tour of New York. Along with my usual New York fix of bagel and cream cheese, pizza (this time it was the fried Montanara !!) and beer, J Crew and Anthropologie, I put in the needed effort to expose myself to cutting edge design and designers. This is my way to continue to be inspired. Nothing seems impossible when one is in this great city and one does not have to look far for inspiration. There is a more than average concentration of talent and creativity here. I aim to soak in as much as I can whenever I am back.

Dress by Norma Kamali, Oscar de la Renta and Rudi Gernreich (Photo Credit)

First, I made it to a great fashion exhibition commerorating designs and American designers that have had a notable impact on fashion in the last 50 years. The exhibition was conceived by Diane von Furstenberg, who is one of my favorite designers. I love her use of bold colors and playful prints while keeping the outfits fairly simple and elegant in cut and design.

Photo 1: A dress by Halston, Photo 2: (from L to R) Dress by Thakoon, Yeohlee Teng and Proenza Schouler, Photo 3: Dress by Sidney Wragge (Photo Credits: Link)

The exhibition ranged from fairly simple clean designs to the very detailed over-the-top designs including the gorgeous Norma Kamali, black parachute cloth and feather jacket, skirt and turban, circa 2011, and Oscar de la Renta, silk taffeta gown with black Guipure lace bodice, spring 2012 (shown above in photo).

Peter Woytuk Sculpture at Columbus Circle with the Museum of Art and Design in background

Next was a walk along Broadway on the Upper West Side to see some site specific sculptures by Peter Woytuk.These sculptures are playful and whimsical. They comprise of oversize animals and fruits in the little green strips or plazas along busy Broadway. They are great as they bring a touch of surprise to the commuters and travelers. They appear out of nowhere and their scale, size and sometimes color forces one to stop and take notice. It is a way for nature to reclaim the city while providing the busy New Yorkers with respite from the everyday....

Pair (Spooning) at 107th Street

The Acorn Bench at 73rd Street

My favorite, Kiwi at 72nd Street

My favorite was the giant kiwi at the 72nd Street station. At least 5meters in height, with an equally large belly, this bird in bright blue sits on its butt and seems to be very happy ! The sculpture somehow made me think of the animated movie 'Happy Feet' and I imagined this kiwi skidding through ice and having the time of its life....screaming 'wooohooooo'!!...... Such is the power of art, it can transport the viewer from a dry hardscaped train station to icy glaciers and feelings of childlike exhilaration !

More on architecture in Part II, to be continued...

I was recently interviewed by National Geographic for their upcoming documentary on Green Buildings in India. The following was my response to them and it lists my views in a nutshell on the topic. I hope I do not sound too angry, disappointed or disgruntled... the truth of the matter is that we have a long way to go to make green buildings as mainstream commercial and day-to-day construction practice in India today.

_________________________________________________________

Dear Mr. Producer

Thank you for your email. I am an IGBC accredited professional in India and a LEED accredited professional in the US. I am architect and have been working in the design and construction industry in New York for many years.

For the last year and a half, I have been busy in building the first green certified home in Goa. We are aiming for the Gold IGBC Green Homes certification. What makes the project unique is that we have considered and employed strategies from the three green ideologies that exist in India today:

-

The age old traditional common sense building principles such as building orientation, retaining existing trees and building around them, courtyard plan, load bearing walls, etc.

-

The alternative building strategies such as filler slabs, reducing use of cement, prioritizing use of existing material on-site, recycle and reuse of wastewater, etc.

-

The new cutting edge technologies such as solar water heater, environment-friendly HVAC systems, moisture sensors, electric sensors, electric vehicles, low VOC paints, green roof, etc.

Unfortunately in India today these three streams of sustainability exist in individual silos and are not really working together. Everyone seems to be doing their own thing while commercial developers have joined the green building bandwagon only as eyewash to improve marketability and sales

The biggest challenges to green buildings in India are the vast regional climatic variations, perceived high cost, lack of usable information, material procurement, labor training, lax regulatory environment, lack of incentives and lack of education on the need for green building among contractors, building material manufacturers, vendors and the final consumers.

Organizations such as IGBC, TERI and CSE have done a good job of educating and training the architecture community. There is also awareness among the global material manufacturers and suppliers. But sadly, there is still long way to go when it comes to training the remaining regional/ local participants of the construction industry. It would actually be fun if you walk through a local building materials market in your city and simply ask the vendors and buyers ‘what is green building’. This could result in an amusing montage on the state of green building in India and how far we still have to go.

We are building in a small state of Goa and have faced challenges in procuring items as simple as low-flow water fixtures. We are now accustomed to receiving blank stares from vendors, public officials and neighboring community at the mention of the word ‘Green Building’. An interesting anecdote is my conversation with my neighbor who was shocked at our plan to construct recharge pits to percolate rain water back into the earth. Her state of utter shock (and some extent distrust) stemmed from the fact that she could not comprehend why we would spend money on something that did not give us anything back. When I explained that sometimes actions need to be based on the larger common good and not only immediate personal gain, I was honored with the same blank stare…

It is surprising that in a state with a high percentage green cover, a rich agrarian culture, low population and density, the residents frequently complain about lack of adequate water supply. Goa is a coastal state and receives a very high amount of 3metres in rainfall every year. Still the water table around our site has been dropping over the years. The same neighbor as above attempted to dig a well in their property many years back and did not find water at decent depth. The obvious problem is that we are using resources at a much faster pace than the earth can replenish. This problem is of course much more pressing in cities but it is a shame when you find it in the seemingly green paradise of Goa. As with the rest of India, Goa is experiencing a building boom. The responsibility of builders to preserve this fragile remaining slice of extremely biodiverse and sensitive environment is extremely critical.

Green building is responsible building. Among global consumption of resources, buildings account for: 20% of water use; 25-40% of energy use; 30-40% of solid waste generation; 30-40% GHG emissions; and 40% of use of raw materials. While building anything, even a tiny house, one must understand that we are utilizing material, energy and water in construction, and changing the ecology of the site and surroundings forever. Plus, we are adding to the demand for resources for as long as the life of the building.

Another favorite statistic that should be a wake-up call to the current mainstream building practices in India is that the production of Portland cement accounts for 5 - 8% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the major cause of climate change. The high emissions are due to the chemical process that produces cement and as a by-product generates large amounts of carbon dioxide. One ton of GHG is released with every one ton of cement production. These figures are shocking and must be considered while thoughtless construction of concrete frame-structure building and hardscaping of open areas.

I have added brief notes to your questionnaire. Your show can go a long way in educating the common man about the need and benefits of building green. I hope that you will attempt to dig deep into the subject. I wish you best for your project.

I am adding some biographical information about myself below. For more information on our project in Goa, you can visit:

http://www.newyorkgoadiaries.com/

http://www.newyorkgoadiaries.com/search/label/Green%20Building

Best

Anjali

Source:

Biodiversity Hotspots Website

Did you know that Western Ghats are among the 34 noted 'Biodiversity Hotspots' in the world. That means that Western Ghats are home to a great proportion of plant life that is endemic to the area, greater than 0.5% of the world's total. It also means that this hotspot for biodiversity is in danger as it has lost atleast 70% of its original habitat.

Biodiversity Hotspots is a science to identify key areas of interest as well as areas key areas in danger. This classification allows for focused conservation efforts in these areas. Find out more, 

http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/hotspots/Pages/default.aspx

As a person living in Goa, one of the states that is home to the Western Ghats, this is a reason for me to be proud, to feel fortunate to have the opportunity to enjoy the gifts of nature and indulge in its beauty to improve my quality of life. Well all that is very good, but in the same breath I can't help but worry about protecting this fragile resource that we have been entrusted with...

The following article in today's newspaper brings further attention to the issue. The results of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel report headed by noted ecologist Madhav Gadgil has found that the protection of the Western Ghats is key to the sustenance of the rivers in the Indian Peninsula. 245 million people living in the Western Ghats states directly depend of these rivers for all their water needs. The report recommends a complete ban on mining in these states and implementing stricter green laws in other industry. What do we do now, should we wait and watch or do we engage...

Source: Times of India, Goa Edition, March 03, 2012

Read more about the Biodiversity Hotspots in the world, 

http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/hotspots/Pages/default.aspx

Read more about the Biodiversity Hotspot in the Western Ghats, 

http://savegoa.com/you_should_know/forests/biodiversity_hotspots.php#more

To make up for my silence on the blog for the past few weeks and it being Valentine's day and all, I offer you all some exciting pictures from the site that is now in it's finishing stage.

The pictures show the house with some woodwork already up and more on the way. It also shows the pool ready for tiling, deck ready for decking and gardens ready for planting ! Hope you ENJOY them as much as I did !!

The following pictures show the sequence of spacial experiences in the living room:

Living room exterior with the front courtyard with existing trees and most of our amazing team (In front, Contractor Binod Arya and Site Supervisor Manoj Shetgaonkar)

The interior of the living room from the back wall, showing the staircase frame, play of light through the louvered opening, front courtyard with existing trees, the pool, deck and gardens, and the hills beyond.

Part of the front elevation

Partial view of the house with the pool and gardens in the foreground. All the area on the right in the picture will be a planted lawn with a row of trees along the boundary wall.

Detail of the living room with the louvers, exposed basalt wall, monumental room height and the tall existing trees.

I recently came across the term 'Barefoot Luxury' in the

Conde Nast Traveller

magazine. The magazine used it to describe one of the three hotels in their listing of most romantic hotels in Goa.

I was intrigued by the term 'Barefoot Luxury'. At first glance, it could be so appropriately used to describe the design themes and concepts employed by us in the NIVIM house in Goa. But before giving in to liberally using the term to describe our house, I ran some basic internet search. The search resulted in a handful of gorgeous resorts in exotic locations of Seychelles, Australia, Kenya, Morocco, Sri Lanka, St. Lucia, Indonesia and Grenada.

A

website for 'the word lover's guide to new words'

describes Barefoot Luxury as 'comfort and elegance in a relaxed setting'.

Time magazine had an article on Barefoot Luxury in Indonesia

. They described the concept as 'an upmarket restatement of the backpackers beach holiday, stressing simplicity and raw nature'. The article went onto describe a beautiful Indonesian hotel on

Nikoi Island

, where the beach houses are designed using natural driftwood, feature open bathrooms, and with no provision for air-conditioning and televisions. The idea is to return to basics and enjoy the luxury of being reconnected with nature. So far so good...

Other properties used the term to describe luxury that is sustainable and that understands and employs local resources (materials for construction, local worforce for training and employment). Luxury that is elegant yet understated.

Well as it happens, most of the above considerations are in sync with our philosophy behind the house NIVIM Goa. Our core design concept is reconnecting with nature and building in a manner that respects and celebrates our truly glorious and unspoiled surroundings in Goa. Our design is intended to extend comfort and luxury while being true to the land. We want to enhance the relationship of the building with nature and reduce the impact of the building on the surrounding landscape. So I guess the term Barefoot Luxury does aptly apply to us after all !

Closer to home, we just spent a great weekend at the

Wildernest resort in Chorla Ghats in Goa

. I would say it is another great example of Barefoot Luxury.

Picture window view from the valley-view cottage at Wildernest, Goa

The pictures below describe more than I can in words...but here are the subtle items that the pictures miss. Wildernest is built and managed in a way that it utlizes local building materials sourced such that it has the least impact on new resources. Built primarily in wood, the visionary behind Wildernest decided not to cut any new forest for their wood. As a compromise, they have used mostly Acacia wood (from the Australian Acacia variety that is actually an invasive specie in India and does not support biodiversity in the area where they grow). In addition, they sourced all their Acacia from social forests. The second type of wood used is reclaimed wood from old Indian Railway sleepers that the government has been replacing with concrete sleepers. Most paving, no actually all paving outdoors in pervious and hence does not stop the natural flow of water back into the earth. Minimum number of trees were cut during construction and the result is an eco-resort that is neselled within the forest. At most times, it is difficult to see any built structure. Spread over 450 acres, the constructed portion is concentrated in a limited area to reduce the impact of (even their most careful and minimal) construction in the virgin forests.

The deck in the cottage overlooking the forest

Wildernest is the vision of a man, Capt. Nitin Dhond who decided to rally and protect these 450 acres of forest land from being encroched by the surrounding iron ore mines, and resulting loss of agriculture, local livelihood and biodiversity. The hotel is now managed in the most sustainable, friendly and efficient manner. The staff hails from the local villages. They are superbly trained to make the guest feel at home, and often surprise them by pointing out birds, animals and medicial plant species. They offer filtered water in the rooms to reduce the need and use of plastic bottled water. The lovely bathrooms are stocked with herbal powders to be used as soap and shampoo to reduce use and discharge of chemicals. The food served uses mostly local produce and recipes.

During our short stay we saw a Malabar Pied Hornbill, a Brahminy Skink and a Green Vine Snake. We relaxed in the peace and quiet green environs and trekked to a beautiful waterfall. It was Barefoot Luxury at its best and we were left wanting more...

Earthy bathroom with its own picture window overlooking the forest and valley

Dining area at sunset

Deck areas at sunset