Screenwriter and director Megha Ramaswamy approached Fractal Chaos to design a weekend home in Pasli Gaon, Velhe—a village about 150 km from Pune, Maharashtra. The site is located between the Deccan Plateau and the Western Ghats, which gives it a unique ecology with four seasons. Drawn to the land by a bordering stream, Megha envisioned a retreat deeply attuned to its natural surroundings.
The site, largely an open grassland with 30% existing plantation, was to be further densified into a forest. Though there was an option for a fast-growing plantation model, we chose a more organic approach, inspired by the existing ecology, requiring less maintenance and manure. We integrated native hardwoods with Megha’s love for flowering plants and shrubs, arranging them in a grid that mimics nature’s rhythmic irregularity. The grassland was left untouched, and the forest grid was planted on half the site, creating a layered journey: approaching the house through a young forest, with open views into the preserved grassland beyond.
The retreat was planned in two phases—the first being a writer’s cottage, followed by the main house. The cottage sits just beyond the forest, near the center of the plot, intentionally distanced from the future main house. It offers solitude and quiet, ideal for writing and retreat.
A defining feature of the cottage is its loft, designed to accommodate an extra bed for visiting friends. The compact ground floor includes a bedroom that doubles as a daybed, a small kitchenette with a fridge and wash area, and a toilet with a bath and WC. Surrounding the cottage on three sides, spacious verandahs extend the living space outdoors—favourite spots for early mornings, lazy afternoons, and peaceful evenings.
The cottage was designed with careful attention to climate and orientation. Stone walls and extended roof overhangs shield the interiors from harsh southwest and west sun, while small openings on the west wall maintain a visual connection to the landscape and allow for cross ventilation. The main window opens to the east, framing a striking view of what Megha affectionately calls the “twin flame tree”—two intertwined trees. The build of the loft above creates a double-height space above the bedroom/living area, also offering views of the surrounding landscape at the loft level.
The constraint for the project was to design within a limited budget and resources, considering the upgradation of finishes at a later time. We chose local basalt stone as the main material for walls lined with bricks on the ends, which prevents the need for dressed stone. Special care was taken by the masons to arrange the yellow-tinted basalt stones with the normal grey basalt texture. Mangalore tiles and steel were sourced from Pune.
We first thought of reusing discarded Mangalore tiles from the village, but this idea did not ensure a waterproof surface for the roof. The railing for the spiral staircase was designed from leftover steel, as curving the railing and transporting it to the site was unmanageable. Overall selection of technology and materials was dependent on what was feasible and easy to make on-site.
Gallery:
Project Details:
Name: Writers Cottage
Location: Pasli Gaon, Velhe, Maharashtra
Area: 800 sq. ft.
Typology: Residential Architecture
Client: Megha Ramaswamy
Designed by: Fractal Chaos
Design team: Rajlaxmi Teli, Atharva Naik, Siddhant Kochhar
Contractor: Amar Rathod
Photographs: Fractal Chaos
Description: Fractal Chaos
