PAVILIONS
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A series of connected pavilions sit low across the contours of a uniquely generous site within a busy bazaar in Nepal. The clamour of the township is close, but the house, gathered as a cluster of pavilions generously set back from the street, stretches gently across the sloping hillside.
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"The design centered on the “4 P’s Peak” idea and honoring the spirit of the mountains, incorporating open and shaded spaces, and respecting the need for privacy, all while staying rooted in the local context. It felt like a natural continuation of the landscape. There’s a quiet poetry in how the home sits within Charikot, and it feels like it belongs here."
PANORAMAS
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The Pavilions open to where the sun traces its dependable arc, where the river carves its way through the valley below the bazaar and beyond, and where the mountain peaks soar against the crisp, blue sky. There are views for all to enjoy from every habitable part of
the house.
PRIVACY
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Set back significantly from the bustling street, the house reveals a robust presence on approach, creating privacy for its residents, and opportunities for passive surveillance and peek-a-boo moments to its neighbours through its loft windows, oblique sightlines and views to the driveway and beyond.
PEAKS
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Seen from the south, lower down the hillside, the house rises in dramatic peaks, a humble reference to the serrated forms of the HImalayan ranges beyond.
POISE
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Open to magnificent views and southern sunshine towards its more private eastern and southern aspects, the house rises as a refuge and barrier from the busy bazaar to its northern and western edges.
PATI
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Vayu Pavilions was commissioned to accommodate elderly grandparents (and a carer) who live permanantly at the address, and to expand its capacity to cater for extended family members on occasion.
Pockets of restful places to sit alone, or to share in company with friends and family, present themselves throughout the house, both indoos and out, reminiscent of Newari Pati (or dais) that have been places of gathering in towns and villages for generations on generations.
POCKETS
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The house presents a way of living that keeps its residents close to the land, but gifts them with views that soar across the hills and valleys to the skies, with panoramas across Dolakha district, Charikot Bazaar and the snowy peaks of the Himalayas beyond.
PRACTICALITY
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Designed as a series of pavilions and private suites for multiple members of a large family, the house opens and closes its rooms and retreats as required,
The kitchen, arguably the heart of the home, sits ready to be thrown open to large family gatherings in the family rooms and outdoor living areas, or may be closed off in quieter days, and easily accessible from the grandparents' suite adjacent.
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"Living here has brought us a kind of stillness we hadn’t known before. My grandparents are especially at ease—the space is safe, easy to move through, and constantly filled with natural light. We feel grounded, in rhythm with nature, and grateful every day for a place that invites rest and presence."
GROUND FLOOR
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A series of cascading pavilions, designed to accomodate a range of family needs and to gently embrace the landscape upon which it falls.
FIRST FLOOR
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The first storey presents a retreat with a private patio, and a generous roof terrace - the latter an ubiquitous feature of many nepali houses.
ROOF PLAN
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The peaked roofs and generous catchment and drainage provide the house with a water supply harvested from high mountain rainfall.
Wetlands and ponds in the landscaping around the house hold on to stormwater overflows for irrigation across the kitchen gardens lower down the hillside.
PROGRESS
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Designed as a series of pavilions and private suites for multiple nuclei of a large family, the house opens and closes its rooms and retreats as required. Currently still in construction, its pavilion programming and discrete zoning allows staged habitation to occur, comfortably housing the family's grandparents in their granny suite, and allowing others in the family to fully occupy the rest of the house upon completion.
VAYU PAVILIONS
We welcome your inquiries and ideas. Let's create together.
We welcome your inquiries and ideas. Let's create together.
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands and waters where we live, learn, and practice.
We honour their stories, kinship practices, and enduring connection to Country and Ancestral knowledge systems, and commit to designing in right relation, and in kind.
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“You are here to remember that architecture is not merely the art of shelter, but the poetry of participation in a living world."