The Lakehouse is a private retreat designed as a space for entertaining, and as a respite from urban life. Located on a steeply sloped and rocky site overlooking the DurgamCheruvu Lake in Hyderabad, the property is embedded in the heart of the city while still feeling completely removed. Due to its topography, the site has prime views across the water to a nature preserve and the contrasting density of the distant HiTec City – a 150-acre tech park that has become a prominent part of the urban landscape.

Contrary to the standard architectural response in Hyderabad to fill, level and clear the site, the Lakehouse hovers above the ground, allowing the natural terrain to become a celebrated focus of the architectural experience. Facing the lake, the building opens with a massing parti of three large teakwood portals that rotate and shift to frame unique views. Along the road and sides, the lightweight steel structure is clad with slabs and thin ribs of local grey granite to create a subtle play of shadow while maintaining privacy from the neighbors.