This Ahmedabad house blends geometric concrete and verdant trees
This concrete Ahmedabad house, Trees Sliced Through by Matharoo Associates, is designed around its site's existing trees

The design of this Ahmedabad house was led not only by the brief and lifestyle of its human inhabitants, but by its site's flora too. Trees Sliced Through by Matharoo Associates in the Gujarati city – India's fifth largest – is a case study in working with the existing nature on site, while tackling contemporary forms and modern materials, such as concrete. The result? A home led by its context, which at the same time celebrates a brutalist architecture approach, as well as responds perfectly to the needs of its clients – a young couple expecting children, alongside their parents, and dogs.
A tree-filled Ahmedabad house by Matharoo Associates
The project's site was dotted by mature, existing trees – a rare sight in dry and sandy Ahmedabad where, unfortunately, common practice often dictates plots are cleared of trees and vegetation before an architect is approached, the studio explains. At the same time, with a hot arid climate where temperatures can reach up to 48°C, foliage and nature become key in maintaining comfortable living conditions. Matharoo Associates, a studio behind many striking 21st-century homes, including multi-generational structures in Surat and its home town of Ahmedabad, decided early on in the process to make the green context central to its design development.
'The first decision was to protect the trees with brickwork all around and to tie them to each other lest they lean or fall during excavation. A 10ft-diameter circle was drawn around each tree as the minimum distance for construction around them,' write the architects, led by principal Gurjit Singh Matharoo. 'The second decision was to go for pile foundations so the amount of soil movement was minimal, and to allow roots to grow and be nourished underneath. The third decision was to keep all spaces completely open on two sides, so the trees would seamlessly be a part of the inside space. Taking cues from the timeless Sarabhai house by Le Corbusier, the rooms are all aligned to the north and south to get long views of the site and common landscaped plot beyond, and the 23 trees dictate the arrangement of the composition.'
The residence is largely made in a fine-cut seamless rough-wood shuttering (now registered as an intellectual property of the particular architects). It 'complements the trees', they say, while cool dark Kudapah sand stone flooring anchors the whole to the ground. Moving elements, such as doors and window openings, stand out in terracotta shades.
'The organic position of the trees is also translated in the articulation of the house. There is a diagonal disposition of spaces that preserves the feel and primordial habit of transgressing under the trees. While the long parallel walls shut off the views from the road and neighbouring plots, they connect to the trees on either side. This flora encloses, shades, shields and becomes an integral part of the life of the family. It is envisaged these trees will become a part of it, growing, living and flourishing with the members of the family,' the architects conclude.
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
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).
-
Porsche saves the best until last with the stunning 718 Boxster GTS 4.0
Could this be the last ever Porsche Boxster with a combustion engine? If so, the 718 GTS 4.0 is the best iteration of the Boxster to date
-
Vinyl, darts, and design: how Audemars Piguet reimagined the watch boutique for Manchester
The latest AP House from watchmaker Audemars Piguet displays design codes that nod to the legacy of its location
-
Copenhagen’s Noma opens its first café and flavour shop
OEO Studio transforms the former entrance to the three-Michelin-starred restaurant into a tactile space inspired by laboratory precision
-
A lush Bengaluru villa is a home that acts as a vessel for nature
With this new Bengaluru villa, Purple Ink Studio wanted gardens tucked into the fabric of the home within this urban residence in India's 'Garden City'
-
Brick by brick, a New Delhi home honours India’s craft traditions
RLDA Studio's Brick House works with the building block's expressive potential to create a dynamic residence with a façade that reveals patterns that change with the sun and shadows
-
Surrounded by mango trees and frangipani, an Ahmedabad home is a soothing sanctuary
Ahmedabad home Teen Vaults, designed by Vaissnavi Shukl, is a family residence grounded in materiality and bold architectural language
-
In Mumbai, two coastal apartments offer options for brothers with different styles
Rajiv Saini’s NJM & PVM apartments in Mumbai demonstrate how identical layouts can be transformed into two distinct interiors
-
A brutalist mosque explores light and spirituality in tropical Kerala
This brutalist mosque by studio Common Ground explores concrete forms and top light as a symbol of spirituality in tropical, southern India
-
For Indian landscape architect Varna Shashidhar, nature taught her ‘more than any lecture ever could’
Varna Shashidhar of Bangalore studio VSLA tells us of her journey to becoming a landscape architect, guided by observation, intuition, and a profound respect for place
-
We spent the night at Indian modernists the Kanade brothers' home in Nagaj
Indian modernists the Kanade brothers' home in Nagaj exemplifies their approach to architecture; architect and writer Nipun Prabhakar spends the night and tells the story
-
Malabar Hill’s elevated micro-forest trail brings nature to Mumbai’s urban experience
An elevated trail in the Malabar Hill neighbourhood is where nature meets design in the ‘urban jungle’ of Mumbai