House Under a Mango Tree by Ujval Panchal and Kinni Soni in Bhopal, India

Project: House Under a Mango Tree
Architects: Ujval Panchal, Kinni Soni
Location: Bhopal, India
Photography by: Dhruvad Shukla

House Under a Mango Tree by Ujval Panchal and Kinni Soni

House Under a Mango Tree is a unique private residence in Bhopal, India, built around large mango trees aged 50 years. The design is inspired by the feeling of being surrounded by trees, and architects aimed to create private living spaces while maintaining the sense of being among the foliage.

The house consists of two blocks connected by walkways and features a solid wall shell with spaces designed as pavilions facing the trees, complete with large glass walls, high openings and flat ceilings to blur the boundaries between interior and exterior spaces. The use of materials such as white cotton walls and uniform granite flooring enhances the feeling of connection to the landscape. The lighting design accentuates the continuity of spaces towards the trees, creating pleasant transitions throughout the day.

House Under a Mango Tree is a private home for Mr. Jain in Bhopal, India. As the name suggests, this house is built around several large mango trees aged 50 years. The house consists of two main blocks connected by walkways. One block is dedicated to private zones such as living room, bedrooms, kitchen and dining area, while the other is for formal areas including guest room, studio, gym and pool.

Mango trees were the most important element of this place when we started thinking about designing the house. The feeling of being under the large canopies of mango trees was our inspiring idea. We wanted to create private living spaces without losing the sense of being under tree canopies.

This house project is designed as a sturdy external wall shell ensuring privacy. Inside this shell, all spaces are designed as pavilions facing the trees where inside becomes outside and vice versa. We used large glass walls as transparent barriers to enclose spaces without losing the sense of being under trees. High openings, flat ceilings and continuous floor levels further blur the boundaries between inside and outside. Various walkways, stairs and terraces at different levels create new views and interesting movements around the mango trees.

For each material, the choice was made with emphasis on enhancing the feeling of connection to the landscape. White cotton walls and ceilings, uniform granite flooring extend the sense of closeness to the environment. Wooden ceilings of upper spaces blend with tree canopies. Careful selection of soft and low wooden furniture items does not interrupt the openness of plans but creates cozy living zones. Indoor and outdoor lighting design accentuates the continuity of spaces towards trees. Lighting control is programmed to create pleasant transitions throughout the day.

– Ujval Panchal