Most architects will agree that to start the design of any structure with the landscape, is rather unusual. “But that’s exactly what we did. The site bore some neem trees on its periphery but was otherwise quite bare. Not that you’d have guessed looking at the present dense landscaping. Patel quickly disabuses me of the thought that he carefully built around the existing greenery. “Not at all. For that matter, even the lake is manmade,” he says.

The owner, Sunit Chokshi, is not exactly a neophyte when it comes to architecture and design. A builder by profession (when he is not playing international bridge), he had already consulted Sri Lankan heavyweight Channa Daswatte for this project. “Daswatte had suggested rammed earth walls, which in my understanding, are suitable for a more humid and moderate climate than Ahmedabad has. Eventually, we were able to connect with Patel, who immediately understood that we wanted low-lying structures resembling cottages, with views of greenery wherever you look,” he explains.

The cobbled driveway to this Ahmedabad farmhouse is lined with clusters of amla trees. Further inside, the structure hugs the ground—an assemblage of discrete rooms connected by open-to-sky courtyards, each filled with a different plant species. A banyan tree substitutes as a porch, with a zen garden and an orchard as a backdrop. “We hope that the banyan tree will eventually offer a grand canopy at the entrance,” explains Patel. Outside the main door, a stone Nandi and suspended metal bells create an asymmetrical composition, with a pichwai in the foyer inside offering a dramatic backdrop.