Well-known Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry, who is the brain behind iconic structures such as the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain, said, “Architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness.” One such architectural gem — marrying new technology and local materials with an eye on sustainability — was recently constructed by a Mumbai-based firm several kilometres away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Set in Khopoli in a quiet section of the Sahyadri hills, the private property ‘Airavat’, or ‘A home in the clouds’ as it is referred to, was envisioned by ‘research and enquiry into Design’ (reD) Architects. It has won the firm a shortlist at the 2020-21 World Architecture Festival in the Rural/Nature category for completed houses or villas. The Delhi-based firm Studio Lotus’s project ‘Villa in the Woods’ has also been shortlisted in the same category.