Assisted by Nature

Nest Inn, an assisted living facility in picturesque Dehradun, designed by Myspace Architects, respects the heritage and natural environment of the site.

Curated by: Deepa Nair
Photographs: Prasanth Mohan, courtesy Myspace Architects

The site

Nestled on the foothills of the Himalayas in the city of Dehradun, a facility for assisted living sits in hypnotic tranquillity. The plot is around four acres which is surrounded by dense mango and litchi orchards and a British bungalow dating back to the colonial period. Although the plot was in the middle of an urban landscape, it still had its independent eco-system with orchards. This instilled a sense of safety due to the site’s proximity to city-facilities yet enjoys the calming shade of a green foliage.

The design intent

There were two necessary aspects of the site that had to be taken into consideration before starting the design. First, the old British bungalow had to be celebrated instead of merely standing indifferently with the upcoming construction. Second, to obtain a clear space for the new structure by cutting trees to an absolute minimum.

Favourably, a relatively empty patch of land was located right opposite to the bungalow. This enabled the possibility of the new structure to face the bungalow and share the same line of symmetry. To make things tricky, in the open space, there were still three trees standing in its middle. On deeper look, they appeared to form a triangle. Hence, they were taken as extent points and a circular spine was envisioned having terminal ends at the two laterally standing trees. Thus, the site’s flora was entirely retained.

The spatial configuration

The circular layout of the whole complex is intended to resonate with the long existent concept of Circle of Life. It consists of bedrooms, meditation hall, dining-kitchen block, and a multipurpose hall. All the spaces are seamlessly merged inside-out through a singly loaded curved corridor that links them all. All the private areas are zoned towards the back of the building, which opens out into the thick green orchards.

At the mid-point of the arc, lies a skewed meditation hall which is placed inside the serenity of the green orchard and aims to help its users revitalise their body and soul by connecting with nature. Towards the other end of the central axis, stands the majestic bungalow as a reminiscent of past glory, with its gabled roof, forming a focal element of the entire campus. The curved corridor with its intermittent facade openings, encloses a central circular courtyard of 40 m diameter. The central landscape forms a plaza, an open-air theatre, and a stage area, all overlooking the entire space.

The material details

The building facade has perforated clay-tile screens and v-shaped tubular pipe sections, which provide a dramatic shadow effect in the circular corridor behind, naming this entire setup as ‘the walk of introspection.’ The contrast of white with earthy tones, bolsters the harmony of the entire building-setting with nature, where the user can sit and tell tales of their youth and vigour, achieving solace in this communion of architecture and repose.

Fact File

Project: Nest Inn – A Communion of Architecture & Repose
Location: Dehradun, Uttarakhand
Area: 16,000 sq ft
Principal architect: Alex Joseph
Design team: Dona Kurian, Yogesh Kumar, Rijul Nayal and Danny Chacko Mathew