A Goa villa mesmerises with its crisp white form engulfed in lush Indian nature

This striking villa on Goa’s border with Maharashtra celebrates its untamed coastal hillside setting in a design courtesy of JMA Mumbai

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a white Goa villa in the leafy indian forest
(Image credit: Ekansh Goel (Studio Recall))

Overlooking the leafy banks of the River Tiracol, a Goa villa, set on the state's border with Maharashtra, was conceived as an architectural platform for family life in dialogue with its untamed natural setting. Designed by the Mumbai-based architecture studio of Jugal Mistri, JMA Mumbai, the home, titled SeaSky Villa, was designed as a celebration of both the life inside it and its broader countryside context.

Tour a white Goa villa surrounded by leafy nature

The project's journey began in a slightly unconventional way. Mistri and the JMA team were not given a very specific brief in terms of the number of rooms or the surface area, or even stylistic restrictions. Instead, the architects were invited to create a physical expression of the practice's core principles of 'collaboration, community and context'.

a white Goa villa in the leafy indian forest

(Image credit: Ekansh Goel (Studio Recall))

a white Goa villa in the leafy indian forest

(Image credit: Ekansh Goel (Studio Recall))

The project's characterful site was a key driver in the design's development, the studio explains: 'The absence of fixed instructions allowed the architecture to emerge directly from the land. The first encounter with the site revealed no obvious vantage point or horizontal surface – only a continuous slope falling towards the river.'

a white Goa villa in the leafy indian forest

(Image credit: Ekansh Goel (Studio Recall))

a white Goa villa in the leafy indian forest

(Image credit: Ekansh Goel (Studio Recall))

Taking their cues from this environment, the architects went on to craft their spatial strategy – a home placed on a series of cascading 'plinths', arranged around a central axis formed by the road as it enters the property.

a white Goa villa in the leafy indian forest

(Image credit: Ekansh Goel (Studio Recall))

a white Goa villa in the leafy indian forest

(Image credit: Ekansh Goel (Studio Recall))

Broken down into smaller volumes and made to feel lighter through permeable pavilions and colonnades that define its façades, the villa now spans a deceptive 4,000 sq m. Three bedrooms are located on the ground level, orientated to look out towards the landscape, 'transforming each room into a private viewing instrument', the studio adds.

a white Goa villa in the leafy indian forest

(Image credit: Ekansh Goel (Studio Recall))

a white Goa villa in the leafy indian forest

(Image credit: Ekansh Goel (Studio Recall))

The top areas contain expansive living spaces, which unfold through a variety of uses – entertaining and family rooms (defined by bespoke open-grain timber veneer panel joinery), kitchen and dining areas, both indoors and outdoors, including a striking open-air swimming pool and deck. Meanwhile, on the lower level sits a double-height studio loft, designed for independent living, its resident able to opt in or out of the social life of the family that resides above.

a white Goa villa in the leafy indian forest

(Image credit: Ekansh Goel (Studio Recall))

a white Goa villa in the leafy indian forest

(Image credit: Ekansh Goel (Studio Recall))

jmamumbai.com

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Ellie Stathaki
Ellie Stathaki

Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).