HOUSE OF THREE STREAMS

AIM- To analyse and understand the architecture of the structure

and the way it has been integrated into the terrain.
1962 | Kaamana Sahu

Semester 4 | Architectural Theory

 "Formal planning strategies are incapable of absorbing the radical
flow of the land and water, and everything from the spatial quality
to the material language echoes the spirit of the site."
—Malik Architecture

At a height of 1,075 metres, towered over by the

monumental Tung fort and overlooking the
Pawna lake, is a house with a design so
ambitious and spectacular that it takes one’s
breath away

Spreading across a sprawling site area of 2

acres, with a built up area of 12,245 square feet,
the House of Three Streams is built on a ridge
and overlooks two ravines. It was built in 4
years, with its construction starting from 2014
and ending in 2017. The hilly topography of the
site necessitated that the house be stepped over
six levels.

For Kamal and Arjun Malik—principals of Malik

Architecture—who designed the house as a
weekend retreat for their families, it was a collaboration in the truest sense. “This
has been an absolute 50-50 effort,” says Arjun. “The design of this house pushes
into a different dimension of architecture, because on the one hand it addresses
the vernacular; it addresses the craftsperson; it addresses the land and
everything we read about architecture. But it also starts from there and takes a
conceptual journey.”

Their firm has earned a reputation for forward-thinking, statement-making

architecture. Avant-garde as it is, it expresses a constancy and synchronisation to
material, form and function.

The uniqueness of this house lies in its

design which is very much integrated
into, and a response to, the
surrounding forest. The idea is for the
residents to explore and connect with
the nature around them. It is a cross
between a weekend house and a forest
sanctuary. The hilly site and undulating
topography create a myriad of open,
semi-open, and closed spaces, such as
pavilions, verandahs and an infinity
pool.
The architects state: "The topography of the land, the material memory of the
surrounding forts, the light of the forest, and the deep water discharging ravines
have created a dominant palimpsest of contextual parameters onto which the
house has been woven."

FORM & MATERIALS

One of the most striking features of the

house is its network of jagged,
cantilevered roofs—a Malik Architecture
hallmark. This is attributed to the load-
bearing capacity to the column trusses,
and the rafters and purlins supporting
the roof.

“The language of the house emerged

from the material quality of the site,”
says Arjun. “It's all natural—Kota for
the flooring, raw steel for the window surrounds, and natural zinc for the roofs.
There's not a single painted wall in the house; they are either exposed in
natural stone, or in clear glass. You will not find an expression of what you call
opulent materials. There is richness, but not opulence.”

PLAN & SPACES

While the private areas with

bedrooms are "embedded in the
forest," the public spaces, on the
contrary, "assume the
mannerism of suspended flight
of the north and east."

Starting at the top, a winding path

leads to the living room. A deck
forms one of the many
intermediate pause points that
allow you to stop and take in the
panoramic view of the lake and
the mountains around. The house
is minimally decorated with
select pieces of custom-made
furniture, artefacts and antiques.

Floor-to-ceiling windows enclose

the space.
 The living room is semi-open and
extends onto a large veranda, where
the wind flow is magnificent. In the
rains, the streams well up into
waterfalls that tumble under bridges
connecting various spaces.

A level below the veranda is the kitchen, with

an al-fresco dining space. There's also a glass-
encased indoor dining room with a deck
overlooking the ravine. Below that is Kamal's
bedroom, the deck of which forms the roof of
Arjun's bedroom, a level further below.

All the rooms have glass shutters with blinds

ensure privacy, while slatted steel mesh
shutters ensure the movement of air and
diffusion of light- although privacy is not really
a concern deep in the Western Ghats, in these
hills of Lonavala, where the entire site is theirs. 1 Open dining (left) and glass enclosed dining (right)

“It's all naturally ventilated with an understanding of orientation, breezes and

typical air mechanisms. While it's our weekend home, it's also a piece of serious
architecture; this is no aesthetic pandering,” says Arjun.

The deck of Arjun's room and the decks of his grandmother's and sister Amrita's
rooms, which are a level below, open out directly into the forest—giving the
occupants the option of walking into the wild.

Behind the house, the construction of an amphitheatre and a horticulture garden are
underway to make the house self-sufficient.
All in all, this villa shapes up to be a beautiful structure with its functions distributed
all over the contours of its hill. It revolutionises the integration of architectural
design in nature by use of different levels to create unique interactions between man
and this house. The asymmetry in design, the lack of rigid order in design, the
hugeness of the site across which the house is built- all these result in a very
interesting exploratory experience for visitors, with surprise elements hidden subtly
from view.
REFERENCES
https://www.theplan.it/award-2020-villa/the-house-of-3-streams-a-house-woven-
in-landscape-malik-architecture

https://www.dwell.com/article/house-of-three-streams-malik-architecture-
cfca093d#:~:text=Father%2Dand%2Dson%20duo%20Kamal,as%20the%20nearby
%20Tung%20(c.

https://www.architecturaldigest.in/content/12000-square-foot-weekend-home-
pawna-lake-western-ghats/

https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/architecture/housing/house-of-three-
streams-by-malik-architecture/

https://themeritlist.com/2019/07/12/house-of-three-streams/