The Eco-Luxury Challenge
We are challenging you to design something completely original. The architecture must perfectly blend deep eco-friendly, sustainable concepts with the hyper-luxury, high-end design language of brands like Varenya and NOT A HOTEL.
"Every single nook, corner, and sightline of this property must be wildly unique, deeply intentional, and highly 'Instagrammable', while maintaining a profound respect for the natural environment."
Existing Site Context
The Raw Canvas: Kunigal Highlands
The 3.5-acre site is defined by sweeping elevations, raw scrub-brush terrain, and massive, ancient Deccan granite boulders. The architecture must not fight this terrain; it must bow to it and incorporate these rocks directly into the foundations, walls, and water features.
Design Inspirations Deconstructed
The Core Benchmarks of Our Vision
Varenya — Experiential Immersion & Off-Grid Luxury
This is almost exactly what we want as far as structure and experience are concerned. Varenya is our North Star for combining off-grid sustainability with rugged, high-end luxury.
Wild Dining: We love immersive experiences like their dining setups placed directly inside running waterfalls.
Earthy Textures: Their heavy use of raw wood and rich, terracotta/rammed earth textures in their spa and living spaces is perfect.
Off-Grid Monuments: Making sustainable infrastructure (like wind turbines) a celebrated visual feature.
NOT A HOTEL — Panoramic Views & Rammed Earth
This is our benchmark for modern luxury architecture. We are profoundly inspired by their theme of 360-degree, 270-degree, and 180-degree view axes. Given our location, we experience both stunning sunrises and sunsets.
Materiality: We love the use of clean rammed earth walls blending with modern luxury.
Arghya — Symbiotic Landscaping
Arghya represents the ultimate landscape and architecture integration. We love the way the raw rock and surrounding flora dictate the flow of the building.
Intaaya — Airy Bamboo & Zero Waste Stones
We need a highlight feature structure—like an open central pavilion—that utilizes soaring bamboo ceilings to feel incredibly light, airy, and open to the elements.
Functional Programming & The Dual Mandate
We are providing the ingredients; we want you to invent the recipe. We seek a realistic budget and timeline based on clever, multi-functional design solutions that solve our dual-purpose business case: A cozy family home that seamlessly transitions into a 7-star UHNI retreat.
1. The Main Bungalow (4BHK)
- Capacity & Scale: Minimum 4 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms. It must be designed to comfortably host at least two families simultaneously with equal parity.
- Aesthetic: Clever use of space, bringing the outside in. Light, airy, and not "heavy", with a massive emphasis on bamboo and high ceilings (per Intaaya).
- Social Core: A huge family kitchen and dining space meant to bring everyone together for cooking and hanging out.
2. Dual Culinary & Experiential Dining
- The Dual Use Case Challenge: We need a solution for a commercial-style staff kitchen (for UHNI catering) that connects seamlessly to the family spaces without blowing the budget.
- Al Fresco Priority: An outdoor dining area where staff can prep/cook, alongside "wild dining" experiential setups (like Varenya's waterfall table).
- Features: Must include a small outdoor wood-fired pizza oven adjacent to the kitchen, actively using site boulders as countertops.
3. Water, Wellness & Meditation
- The Pool: A stunning swimming pool overlooking the landscape. We leave the exact dimensions, edges, and material selections to your creative expertise.
- Spa Zone: A dedicated spa area featuring a Jacuzzi and a steam room (referencing the earthy textures of Varenya).
- The Meditation Room: A serene, dedicated prayer/meditation space designed symbiotically around the natural landscape and boulders (directly inspired by the Arghya flow).
4. Multi-Use Recreation & Events
- The Amphitheater: A beautiful outdoor space to host 50 to 100 guests (birthdays, receptions) that perfectly captures the landscape backdrop.
- Multi-Purpose Court: A recreational facility highly adaptable for Pickleball, Basketball, Tennis, and other sports.
- Clever Repurposing: We want the footprint of these activities to be minimal. Design these spaces to be repurposed—for example, the courts could safely double as overflow parking during a large 100-person event.
5. Agriculture & Eco-Efficiency
- Agrarian Footprint: Dedicate a significant 1-acre portion of the masterplan strictly towards agriculture and organic farming.
- Sustainability: The entire landscaping plan must be deeply eco-friendly, integrating sustainable monuments (like Varenya's wind turbines) seamlessly into the aesthetic.
- Sunken Hearth: A sunken firepit integrated into the topography.
Anticipated FAQs
Addressing the immediate technical, financial, and operational questions regarding the Forté Design Commission.
Site & Topography
Q: Has a formal topographic survey and soil test been completed?
A: A preliminary topographic survey mapping primary boundaries and major boulder clusters is available upon signing an NDA. Deep geotechnical soil testing will be commissioned concurrently with the initial massing and concept phase. Expect solid Deccan granite close to the surface.
Q: How strict is the "zero excavation" mandate regarding boulders?
A: Highly strict. We do not want to dynamite or level the hill. If a boulder is in the way of a wall, we expect you to design the wall around the rock, utilizing it as an interior feature, structural anchor, or natural retaining wall.
Scope of Work
Q: Does your commission scope include Landscape Architecture and Interior Design?
A: Yes. We are seeking a unified, holistic vision. If your firm specializes only in structural architecture, we expect you to bid as a consortium alongside a landscape architect and interior designer whose aesthetics match our mandate.
Q: Who is managing the statutory approvals and local clearances?
A: The Lead Partner and our local legal team in Bangalore will handle all government liaison, licensing, and statutory approvals. The Architect’s scope is strictly design, structural engineering, and periodic site-supervision.
The Dual-Mandate & Operations
Q: How rigid is the separation between "Family Use" and "Staff/Event Operations"?
A: Absolute. When functioning as a 7-star UHNI retreat, guests must experience seamless luxury without seeing the "back of house." Service routing, staff kitchens, and maintenance access must be acoustically and visually isolated.
Q: Are there specific sustainable certifications (e.g., LEED, IGBC) you are targeting?
A: We are less interested in chasing a plaque and more interested in actual, functional sustainability. We want passive cooling (high bamboo roofs), 100% solar micro-grid capability, and zero-waste water cycles.
Commercials & Timeline
Q: Is there a hard, fixed CapEx budget for the build?
A: We have an internal target, but we are looking to you to provide a realistic budgetary roadmap. We want clever, cost-saving engineering (like the shared kitchen wet-walls) balanced with high-end luxury finishes. Propose what the vision costs to execute properly.
Q: What is the expected project timeline?
A: We aim to select our architectural partner and commence concept design within 45 days. We target breaking ground 4 to 6 months after onboarding, followed by an 18 to 24-month construction phase.
Submit Your Proposal & Portfolio
We are currently accepting portfolios from visionary architects and design consortiums. Please provide your details below, and our Lead Partner will be in touch directly.
Direct Contact
Dilip Malave (Lead Partner)
dilip@forte-estate.com