Eight families took up residence in Cloud 9 in a spirit of community living while enjoying their own private homes. Cloud 9 is a stand-alone building in the riverfront area of Nashik - an ancient pilgrim town and fast-growing city set on the Godavari River. It spans nine levels and offers a holistic living environment.
We design buildings and spaces with a contemporary minimalist expression - spaces that give a sense of openness and are filled with natural light and ventilation. It is also essential to integrate functionality with aesthetics and minimize the carbon footprint.
Ar. Shital Sakhala, Founder Disha Architects
Cloud 9 has simple contemporary lines and in response to the riverfront site, offers views of the river and the city from sit-outs, terraces, and balconies. Ample natural light and ventilation through large windows flood the apartments and integrate nature as a part of the living experience through outdoor and indoor landscaping which help in passive cooling.
The building was oriented in a north-east – south-west direction to catch the breeze and light. It is rectilinear in plan and of exposed brick and concrete material palette. On the south-west road-facing elevation, each flat is fronted by a long, angled terrace and the series is staggered to create an interesting mass. In addition, their railings, designed with fins/slats, run across, and also connect alternate floors - thus linking levels and creating a cohesive structure.
The terraces provide sheltered transitional spaces between the interiors and exteriors and ensure flow of light and breeze. And the shifting patterns, created by the sunlight through the fins/slats, offer a natural design element. Each flat has a large, cantilevered deck that offers a panoramic view of the city and mitigates heat gain.
Use of green materials like AAC blocks, an electrical solar grid, solar reflective tiles for high heat reflectance on the terraces, double glazed windows, and permeable paving and rainwater harvesting for ground water recharge, create an eco-friendly, sustainable structure.
The ethos of the architecture extends into the interiors. All the spaces within the apartment are planned considering Vastushastra, have modern amenities, and minimum use of materials and dependence on artificial lights and air-conditioning. The drainage and air-conditioning services are routed in toilet duct shafts, facilitating ease of maintenance and approach.
A simple material and colour palette, and artwork created on-site with use of leftover materials such as tiles, plywood, and veneer, has minimized the use of materials. In addition, decorative elements (such as moulding to cover sections of the wall or ceiling) have been done away with. Materials such as concrete slabs have been left bare to create a warm, raw, organic ambience. Natural light washes across the exposed walls and creates a play of lines when falling through the fins/slats.
