Page 104 - HUDCO DESIGN AWARDS

JAVA RAIN RESORT, CHIKMAGALUR, KARNATAKA
Deriving a Sense of Place
The location offering the distant vista of
Mullayanagiri hill was reserved as a linear
grassed clearing dotted with existing
trees. This sightline visually connects the
observer to the region’s most prominent
landscape feature. A revised site survey
was undertaken focusing on existing
grade, identification of remnant
indigenous species and the small
difference between ground and plinth of
the already sited buildings. All trees,
including native saplings were mapped to
understand the extent of indigenous and
introduced species.
The site also gave an impression of
having an ad-hoc distribution of coffee
plants. The mapping exercise helped re-
imagine the site into areas where coffee
bushes were growing well, and areas
where they had depleted completely.
This information was used to steer
construction disturbance and start re-
planting the slow-growing Coffea robusta
shrubs, which would be needed to
strengthen the sense of being in a
coffee estate.
Habitat Strengthening
Interventions included canopy thinning of
silver oaks to promote pioneer and
slope stabilization vegetation to take
root, along with removal of infested
trees, remedial grading and soil
improvement. The construction
disturbance was re-assigned as a buggy
drive to the primary linkage to each villa.
Another key idea was to a mix of
introduce native and compatible trees
and shrubs that host pollinators all year
round and work under the canopy
structure of the remnant native trees.
This was felt to help in making the
landscape more resilient.
Wherever, the complex natural canopy
structure generated abundant leaf litter,
it was left in place to arrest soil erosion
and enhance percolation of water till the
design interventions would come through.
The overall planting design primarily
avoided human-animal conflict, creating
an impression physical distance between
cottages, rehabilitating slopes while
triggering the sense of being ‘at leisure’.
Integration of key strategies
towards revitalization of the site
01- Existing Silver Oak trees
02- Existing Native Forest trees
03- Introduced Middle Storey
(texrture / backdrop/ screening)
04- Introduced Lower Storey
(texture /transition / fragrance / colour)
05- Existing Coffee sthrubs
06- Slope stablisation grasses
07- Stonrwater diversion & Snake
deterrent apron
08- Retained slopes, with toe walls
09- Artefacts for visual interest and
camouflage of service points
Existing Native Trees Some Planted Species
Syzygium cumini Syzygium cumini
Ficus racemosa
Ficus racemosa
Gmelina arborea Michelia champaca
Melia dubea Mesua ferrea
Filicium decipiens
Dipterocarpus indicus
Palaquium ellipticum Artabotrys hexapetalus
Lagerstroemia microcarpaMusa spp.
Pongamia pinnata
Plumeria alba
Ficus lyrata
EXISTING PLANTED TREESVetivera zizanoides
Cymbopogon citratus
Grevillea robusta
Erythrina indica Bacopa monnieri
Areca catechu Centella asiatica
Ficus cairica
Zephyranthes candida
Bambusa vulgaris Hymenocallis littoralis
Piper nigrum