Flora

Design Firm: Humming Tree
Principal Architects: Mohammed Afnan & Arun Shekar Gowda
Location: Kerala, India
Project Typology: Boutique Hospitality Venue
Photographer: Syam Sreesylam

Flora by Humming Tree returns the reins of the body and mind rightfully to nature, creating a boutique stay within the green-swathed plantations of Vythiri in God’s Own Country.

Ensconced in the quaint town of Vythiri in the forested heartland of Wayanad, Flora presents itself as an enduring architectural echo through the passages of time. A boutique resort, the hospitality venue has been sculpted to life with ardent devotion to melding the untamed landscape with the retreat’s grounding ethos for the revered Flora Group of Hotels.

Experiencing maritime climate in all its glory, the site located in the highlands of Vythiri paints a surreal image of emerald-hued spice plantations and dense forests dotting steep, rugged landscapes inhabited by a bevy of endemic species of tigers, monkeys, hornbills, and tusker trails traversed by mighty elephants. The area shares its layered history with many tribal communities, honouring harmonious coexistence with design influences unabashedly apparent within the venue.

“An acclaimed summer getaway, the name Flora is an ode to the potent and ubiquitous green-laden hues that preside over the context of the built form,” shares Afnan. The resort’s location amidst higher altitudes allows the billowing mist to caress its topography when the relentless monsoons arrive; the expanse seems to levitate shrouded amidst the clouds and vegetation within its proximity.

Rooted in its context and derived almost entirely from the landscape itself, the materials become lyrical counterparts in the design scheme, indulging in an intentional lack of contrast — manifesting as a medley of spaces both indoors and outdoors that romance nature, almost beguiling the sight to believe that the venue was always a homogeneous part of the land it stands upon.

The design narrative of the project only needed to seek inspiration from the verdant landscape it emerged from. Its demeanour is a silent homage to the allure of Tropical Modernism as a design style, tipping its hat to the prowess of Bawa while exploring an intuitively minimalistic approach.

“The client’s brief focussed on creating a cohesive design grammar that surged through the property, creating a revived modern identity that could also be synonymous with the hospitality industry within Kerala. In addition, the climatic profile of Vythiri posed as a frontrunner in the design process, urging us in the direction of robust and locally available materials that weren’t precious and daunting with respect to upkeep,” elaborates Arun.

The architectural atelier placed superlative emphasis upon conjuring the milieu’s grain of ambience, honing it to feel like the structure has existed for numerous years in this very landscape. Although a new venue amidst the fabric of the plantations, Flora has been moulded to harbour an old-world charm, exuding an imperfect yet enticing lived-in sentiment. To express this, an overruling Wabi-sabi vocabulary has been adopted, merging harmoniously with minimalism. Earthy and raw materiality becomes a leitmotif, relishing the warmth and tactile nature of the visual and spatial elements at play.

Lush views pose as companions as one approaches the premises, a winding drive layered with views of fuchsia Bougainvillea flowers, moss-enveloped stone walls, and a familiar sight of sloping terracotta-hued roofs that arise from rubble masonry. The softly curved entrance is one with nature, instilling an exalted sense of depth, intrigue, and scale. The towering canopies unlace their veils to divulge the double-height monolithic landmark, traversing the voluptuous contours of the site.

“The master plan was birthed by building around the central core of the former venue that inhabited the land. A pre-existing dilapidated rectilinear block was restored, and a duo of flanking blocks were created as a part of the reimagined blueprint. It has been a design exercise which tethered the past and present together with an empathetic understanding of the site and its history,” recollects Afnan.

The communal and public spaces within Flora connect with external surroundings, virtually collapsing the threshold between the inside and outside to initiate a dialogue with sweeping vistas, placid water bodies, and the volatile monsoon skies. The hotel’s lobby is earmarked by a colossal feature stone wall, against which a sculpted sepia console crowned by a scarlet piece of playful tribal art depicting the silhouette of a monkey has been juxtaposed. The gothic black metal chandelier levitates within the lofty internal volume, illuminating the space with a diffused light at dusk.

The rippling sounds of the outdoor pond and the views of the forest within reach establish a tangible and sensory relationship amidst the patron and the spaces they find themselves within. A waterbody interjects the master plan, creating a serene void and a central core; the perimeter is stippled by a colonnaded passageway, creating an open membrane between the built and unbuilt, which lights up like a beacon as the skies darken.

Unpretentious finishes, muted hues, and textured materials were the allies in the conceptualisation of every zone at the venue. “We envisioned the perception between inhabiting the inside and outside being morphing and fleeting. The silhouettes of objects, furniture, and curios indoors are curved and organic. Their amorphous forms almost compellingly contrast the linearity of the built structure, creating inviting and cosy nooks that one can see peppered around the layout. The lobbies on the two levels have curved sofas by light-flushed windows, beckoning guests to gather and intimately experience the property,” explains Arun.

At Flora, the impact of the indigenous communities, craft, and the site has been paramount. The gallery-esque corridors are punctuated with gentle vaults, sinuous graphic patterns, and focal installations inspired by the locale. Boulders primitively acquired at the site were fashioned as nostalgic sculptural additions, moss-sheathed branches pose as dramatic and breathing objects of art, large earthenware urns and ‘Chattis’ (natively used as cookware in Kerala) have been collaged to create artisanal vignettes. The appeal of local craftsmanship and art was explored prudently, celebrating the essence of the place the resort inhabits within its context endowed with decades of history and art.

“The rooms at the venue are sanctuaries of comfort, creating immersive oases for its patrons. Scaling voluminous heights of over four metres, each room has been conferred with floor-to-ceiling fenestrations that are picture windows to the panoramic views of nature,” state Afnan and Arun. The spaces have been pieced together with an acute penchant for classics, chronicling the creations of the age of Jeanneret with sculptural expressionism. The resting and lounging areas are predominantly monotone, layered with bric-a-brac, tribal-inspired art, and furniture that dabble in hues and patterns with careful restraint. The capsule furniture collection debuts the Chandigarh Chair, Kangaroo Chair, deep umber desks and accent tables crafted in locally sourced wood, finds from Pottery Barn, and linens from Zara Home. The oversized sheer curtains line the openings and persuade daylight inside while the tropical breeze whispers in. 

Located on the edge of the property, the restaurant and pool present themselves as the public nuclei of the resort. The restaurant was conceived around a tree that graced the site for decades; the layout was detailed to metaphorically embrace the tree’s presence and make it the literal heart of the space. The large glass sections worked into the rubble walls acquaints the patrons with the view of the plantations, imitating an experience of dining alfresco amidst the valley. The infinity pool is lined with fern green-hued tiles and surrounded by cobbled pathways, making it an ingrained part of the visuals of omnipresent lushness.

“This endeavour has been a labour of love! Regardless of everything unprecedented that unfolded around us, working on this project through the Pandemic brought a sense of peace. Our steadfast focus has been on narrating a story of the land, its heritage, and its people through our design expression. A story that was only further exemplified within the blueprint and shared with patrons in a newfound light,” conclude the Principal Architects.

Flora finds itself at the intersection of the vernacular and modern, creating a getaway which reiterates that the approach of envisioning a sensitive design extension shall always triumph over the intrusion of what already exists.

 This piece was published in Livingetc (June 2022) and The House of Things (September 2023).