Earthitects’ Green Marvel in Wayanad’s Verdant Hills
Built on a forested hillside in Southern India, the architecture and interiors of Estate Plavu are designed following the principles of biophilic design.
Set along, under and in the middle of the arboraceous landscape that permeates Wayanad—a rural district located in the north-east portion of Kerala in India—Estate Plavu by Earthitects is a weekend home that urges and encourages the practice of reverse urbanisation. Earthitects, based in Bengaluru, Karnataka, under the helm of architect George E. Ramapuram, attempts, through their projects, to develop ecosystems and experiences that exist in close proximity to nature, and allow the earth’s prims to dictate their architecture.
Reverse urbanisation or returning to nature has perhaps never been more critical, and at the same time, smoothly feasible—pertaining to the advent of the work-from-home culture during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Indian design and architecture studio utilises this premise to build habitable locales sequestered within verdant landscapes, with grasping views to magnificent sights and a contiguous yet safe nearness to the habitats of birds and animals.
Stating the inspiration behind Estate Plavu, which is spread across one acre of a forested hillside in Wayanad, Ramapuram shares, “Rooted in the values of the land lie crafted spaces that emanate from this very earth that binds us all. At Earthitects, our mantra of ‘reverse urbanisation’ results from the influence of nature in upbringing and experiencing ‘life in its abundance’. Every aspect of Estate Plavu sings harmoniously with nature, from materiality to ecological impact.”