Ekya By The Pinewood Studio

A house designed to wander into the wilderness

The first thing one notices at Ekya, a 12,000 sqft house in Hyderabad’s Jubilee Hills, is the silence of the wilderness. Courtyards and terraces rise at different levels rife with dense foliage. A three-storey high boulder wall gives an impression of the house being carved from the rock, while chirps of birds add to the quietude. It is this strange paradox that defines, Ekya, an urban house experience as a private wilderness.

Project Name: Ekya
Location: Hyderabad,India
Typology: Farmhouse
Site Area: 1.2 acre
Landscape Design: The Pinewood Studio
Photography: Vivek Eadara

The landscape strategy for the house began with the site itself. Meghna Dulani and Shashwat Gehenwar of The Pinewood Studio, retained the existing boulder wall at the rear side, a marker of the site’s geology, while indigenous species that thrived on the site during its construction, informed the planting scheme. By rooting the landscape in the larger geographical region, the design reduces long-term maintenance and allows it to settle naturally into its context

From the outset, the landscape was shaped by the client’s vision for how each space would be used. The courtyard forms the central anchor of the landscape, with two Bauhinia trees rising through the space, casting filtered shade over the seating area through the day. During the flowering season, pink blooms create a beautiful contrast against the limestone flooring, while fragrance tantalises the senses. A tall metal mesh with creepers climbing across the three floors, form a backdrop to the main outdoor seating and the bar on the corner, reinforcing the space’s role as a social space within the house. Soil beds are introduced along the edges to allow plants to thrive naturally. 

On the second floor, the private garden behind the master study shifts the experience of the wilderness. Set at natural soil level, this space is conceived as a tropical forest, with dense planting of Calathea lutea, Traveller’s Palm, pomegranate, and Indian gooseberry trees. With limited access, this space becomes a space for observation, stillness and wandering. Idol of Lord Ganesha, a gift carried by the owner since her marriage, introduces a layer of personal memory and ritual into the space. 

The upper terrace extends the landscape vertically and reinterprets what was originally conceived as a service slab. Recognising its potential as a vantage point, the space was transformed into an inhabitable garden finished in sandstone and wooden decking. Large soil volumes and carefully planned irrigation allow dense planting to thrive here, creating a layered edge that filters views and softens the surrounding city. The terrace becomes a place for small gatherings and evening use, while also functioning as a buffer that reduces noise and visual exposure from the outside.

Setbacks and the entry into the house are equally thought of and integrated into the larger planting scheme. Along the front setback of the house, service areas are strategically screened behind a water feature and dense foliage that is visible from the dining space behind it. Similarly, the driveway is finished with porous Java stone that allows plants to thrive on the surface. The entry porch is anchored by a mature rubber tree that carries personal significance to the homeowners. 

Across the house, the landscape is not treated as a series of individual gestures but as a continuous system where wilderness is read across levels, and edges. By keeping what was native to the site, it allows the plants to gradually evolve over time. And as the landscape grows, it blurs the boundaries between the built and the wild, it frames new views, brings more flora and fauna, and deepens the sense of immersion with nature, making one feel as if they are really wandering into the wild.