Lilypad
A holiday home in Aluva, Kerala built from the ground up — site, landscape, pool, and architecture planned together to create a tropical family retreat where indoors and outdoors are barely distinguishable.
Industry
:
Residential
Location
:
Aluva, Kerala
An ageing family property, cleared and reimagined from scratch — a retreat built to last for generations.
Where architecture ends and landscape begins
Lilypad began with demolition — the complete clearing of an existing family residence in Aluva to make way for a fresh start on the same site. The placement of the home, the landscape, and the swimming pool were planned together from the outset, treating the entire property as a single composition rather than a building with features added around it. The design is built around uninterrupted spatial flow: expansive living areas, double-height volumes, and open-to-sky courtyards dissolve the boundary between inside and outside, letting natural light, ventilation, and greenery become part of the everyday experience rather than things viewed from a window.
Every space within the home is visually connected to the next, creating an atmosphere that manages to feel simultaneously open and intimate. The architectural language is contemporary but grounded in the tropical context — simplicity and openness over ornamentation, with the Kerala landscape doing much of the work. The result is a timeless family retreat that offers comfort and serenity in equal measure, designed to be lived in and returned to across generations.
Hestia's Ark
Architecture
Interiors
Landscape
+Design