Karia Konark Estate

A vivacious merger of square, circular, rectangular and triangular openings form the interesting facades of 11 apartment buildings in the Karia Konark Estate. Spread amidst lush green lawns and tropical gardens, it is situated in the heart of Pune, opposite the Poona Club. The pitched roofs were inspired from the neighbouring heritage buildings and later on became a familiar feature in Pune’s housing developments. The linear apartment blocks facilitate the creation of a large recreational space in the centre. The landscaped court has various recreational facilities including a clubhouse and a swimming pool. Each building is designed with stilts and 4 upper floors. Each floor is an arrangement of 2 flats, one each of 2 and 3 bedrooms or a combination of two similar flats. The buildings are planned in such a way that the end walls of 2 buildings can be connected to each other, which creates the desired linear layout and also saves on costs. Konark Estate was one of the first schemes that adopted the spinal central garden composition. Previously, the residential development in Pune followed a clustered composition with 4 flats per floor. This approach although considered economical didn’t allow the creation of good garden spaces, given that the building had a larger footprint and another significant portion of the ground had to be dedicated to vehicular driveways. The architect managed to convince the rather sceptical developers to embrace a new approach of linear planning with 2 flats per floor and it turned out to be a success. The idea was such a huge sensation that the developer insisted on using the exact replica of the layout in their other projects in Pune city and requested the architect to make facade modulations and create a distinct look. These projects indicate the emergence of “decorative architecture” in the architect’s practice.