_pages-to-jpg-0001.jpg)
For Architects Nupur Shah and Saahil Parikh, Salt Pan House in Agarvado, Goa, is more than a residence, it is a meditation on place, material, and memory. Conceived on a ten-acre property between the Chapora River and a mangrove belt, the home rises at the edge of three man-made salt pans, which dictated not just the layout but the spirit of the architecture. “From the very beginning, the vision was simple,” they recall. “This wasn’t a house to be adorned. It was to be discovered, to reveal itself gradually, and to belong to its landscape.”
The architects approached the project with a philosophy of restraint and reverence. The coastal regulatory rules strictly limited the built-up area, so every element had to earn its place. The result is a home distilled to its essence—functional, tactile, and deeply connected to its environment. Material truth, climate responsiveness, and context were the guides, not ornamentation.
Salt Pan House unfolds vertically in three distinct layers. At its base is a sculpted concrete volume, grounding the home with permanence and solidity. Above it floats a teakwood-louvered box, light and porous, that mediates between the heavy base and the open skies. Topping it all is a pitched roof of titanium-zinc alloy, hovering like a protective canopy. “We wanted a dialogue between mass and lightness, between opacity and permeability,” the architects explain. “The house had to feel rooted yet open, solid yet ethereal.”
The house stretches along the southern edge of the largest salt pan. Here, a linear infinity pool extends toward the reflective waters, visually merging with the salt flats beyond. It is an architectural gesture that turns water into a medium of continuity, a quiet conversation between the home and its landscape. Beyond the pool, the land rolls gently toward mangroves, offering views that change with the seasons, the light, and the tides.
Arrival at the house is deliberately orchestrated. A steel-framed canopy, flanked by laterite walls, leads visitors into a soaring double-height lobby, which acts as the spine of the home. From here, expansive living, dining, and bar areas extend seamlessly toward the pool deck, framed by wide verandas and floor-to-ceiling glazing. “We wanted interiors and exteriors to converse,” Shah and Parikh note. “The landscape isn’t outside. It’s inside, flowing through every room.”
On the ground floor, a guest bedroom opens onto lush greenery, while circulation itself becomes an experience. A free-standing metal staircase ascends through the double-height lobby to the first floor, which houses four bedrooms and a family lounge. Surrounding this level is a continuous balcony, shielded by operable teakwood louvers. These screens filter harsh Goan sun and monsoon rains, offering comfort without sacrificing openness.
Below, a spa with a steam room, sauna, and changing areas connects to the pool deck, blending utility and indulgence seamlessly. Every surface and texture is chosen for honesty and tactility. Exposed concrete and locally quarried laterite honor regional building traditions, while the ground floor’s polished cement contrasts with the lantern-like glow of the first floor at night. Inside, cement floors and walls in shades of grey, black, green, mustard, and terracotta create a subtle rawness, softened by cane, plywood, and richly veined Indian granite.
Sustainability and self-sufficiency are integral to the design. Greenhouses nurture homegrown produce, a fishing deck and yoga pavilion engage with the surrounding land and water, and the all-weather gym features equipment made from recycled timber. The architects emphasize that every functional aspect—recreation, wellness, or utility—was folded into the design without disturbing the home’s quiet, measured rhythm.
Art also plays a key role. The home houses the client’s collection of contemporary works, spanning decades, which weave a narrative of culture and personal memory into the spatial experience. Yet despite its scale and the richness of these experiences, the house remains compact, efficient, and intimate. Services are discreetly tucked into niches, allowing primary spaces to breathe freely, while circulation flows effortlessly from public to private areas.
The coastal location brought engineering challenges. Constructing a coffer dam for the pool, integrating an open municipal drain, and navigating strict environmental regulations demanded ingenuity. “Every challenge became an opportunity,” the architects recall. “The constraints shaped the architecture, rather than compromised it.”
From the architects’ perspective, Salt Pan House is a synthesis of elemental architecture and lived experience. Concrete, timber, and zinc are not just materials—they are a vocabulary, telling a story of permanence and lightness, of land and water, of restraint and discovery. The design responds to the sun, the rain, and the rhythm of the tides, creating spaces that are simultaneously protective and porous. Every element, from the infinity pool to the teak screens, articulates a relationship between nature, craft, and human presence.
Salt Pan House is a home that emerges from its environment rather than imposing itself upon it. It is a sanctuary where architecture, landscape, and sustainability converge, offering quiet poetry in every corner. As Shah and Parikh reflect, “We set out to design a house that belongs to the salt pans, the mangroves, and the river. One where every material, every space, every gesture feels inevitable. This is the essence of Salt Pan House—an architecture of place, memory, and life.”
