Chennai
When 47-year-old city-based homemaker Sharanya Shankar, decided to build a house in Kodaikanal 25 years ago, the idea seemed like a smart investment to make. However, as years passed, her children began growing up, and a summer vacation to the hill station was more or less, an annual affair. It was then that a closeness to their second home, developed.
“It was like a home away from home in more ways than one,” says Sharanya, “Our children started making friends at Kodai and before we knew it, the annual visit, especially during the unforgiving summers, became a ritual.”
Purchasing a property in the hillside and constructing a home there, may not exactly be your idea of a new trend. For – as city based architect, Durganand Balsavar points out – changing homes with alternating seasons, dates to centuries ago. “With changing work schedules, moving into a summer home has become quite practical,” he says, “People have the option of working from home and your own business, allows for that luxury anyway. So working from the confines and comfort of a nice little house in the hillside is a great idea.” Durganand points out that summer homes, apart from boasting of a distinct “close-to-nature feel”, also have the ability to evolve with the family. “You move in during the summer with your kids, then begin visiting for longer periods when they go away to college, and even stay there for longer periods of time when you grow older.”
Maintaining a summer home – and the cost that this might incur – is a key factor in purchasing a property in the hills. “Frequency of usage is paramount,” says Mehul Doshi, Managing Director, Doshi Housing, “Short stays and long periods of no occupancy, ensure that maintenance of a summer home drains your resources.” And maintenance, going by what most architects believe, is the biggest challenge that a summer home poses, postpurchase.
“Owing to the climate at the hillside, fungal moulds tend to develop on walls,” says P K Ramanathan, Principal Architect, Ramanathan and Associates, a city-based architecture firm, “So employ a caretaker to ensure that your home stays dust-free and is regularly maintained.” Archana Bhansal, who runs city-based architecture firm, Two Tone Design believes that the off-season (winter months) is when maintenance becomes the most challenging. “Ceilings and walls need to be properly insulated to protect the superstructure from the cold, even as proper checks against termites and dust, must be conducted.”
As far as design of the home itself is concerned, the close-to-nature feel that a summer home ought to provide, is precisely what must matter in its construction, feel developers and architects alike. “Since you are off on a retreat – away from urban claustrophobia – you need a lot of open space,” says Mehul. “So the design has to be minimalist in nature, ever-respectful of its environment,” points out the architect in Durganand. “Then there’s also the need for a sloping roof to tide over seasonal rainfall,” adds Ramanathan.
Can a summer home double up as a worthy investment option? Is an investment capable of fetching profitable returns? “That would depend on the owner,” says Mehul, “Some consider it as a combination of a second home and a smart investment. However, since it is a second home, it may not be bad investment.” Durganand however, feels that investment and summer homes do not go hand in hand. “The main purpose of constructing a summer home is to move away from the hustle and bustle of the urban landscape,” he says, “But when you begin calling that an investment, rest assured that others are going to make a beeline and ‘invest’, thereby defeating the purpose of constructing a summer home in the first place.”
From an environmental perspective, Durganand points out, owning two homes can contribute to an unhealthy carbon footprint. “This is where minimalist designs play a vital role. Mumbai-based architect Charles Correa constructed a home in Ahmedabad that contained living quarters for both summer and winter,” he says, “During summer, the living quarters were located in the east to escape the heat of the setting sun, while in winter, it was the exact opposite, so as to enable its residents to soak in the warmth of the sunset.” Interestingly, as Durganand points out, this was common construction practice centuries ago, before houses became segregated into distinct living quarters. “In these times of environmental instability, it only makes sense to conserve and make the best of what we have,” he signs off.
Source: Times Property in The Times of India, Chennai
