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shared living space with courtyard, dining area and open kitchen
exterior view of illa by the sea coastal retreat in udupi
natural light filtering through the courtyard into the interiors

Project fact file :

Project Name: Illa by the Sea

Category: Hospitality

Architecture Studio: From Around Here (@from.around.here)

Design Team: Ar. Shreya Daffney, Ar. Hita Bhat, and Ar. Saran Babu, Ar.Shravan

Build Team: Santosh Amin

Built-up Area: 3680 sq. ft.

Year of Completion: 2025

Location: Udupi, Karnataka

Photography:  Niby Thomas

The layout balances wide western sea views with protection from the strong coastal sun. More than a visual feature, this courtyard helps cool the house naturally by allowing hot air to rise and escape, while bringing soft daylight into the heart of the home. Details like the wooden skylight trellis, carved with patterns inspired by local fishing communities, add a subtle local character.

shared living space with courtyard, dining area and open kitchen
shared living space with courtyard, dining area and open kitchen

At the heart of the home lies a shared living space where the living room, dining area, and open kitchen seamlessly flow around a skylit courtyard, creating a bright, connected, and socially engaging core for everyday living.

continuous built-in seating finished in textured blue lime plaster
blue lime plaster hallway with built-in seating and perforated screens

bedrooms

This circulation spine leads eastward to the private spaces, where each of the four bedrooms - Kubja, Souparnika, Varahi, Kedaka, and Swarna - is named after rivers integral to Udupi’s ecology. Their meandering forms are traced onto the walls in green and blue lime oxide (Kaavé) and continued onto the floor in epoxy, grounding the spaces in regional memory.

A long hallway along the east connects the bedrooms, designed as a calm transition space with flowing blue lime-plastered seating and perforated screens that filter soft morning light.

kubja

kubja bedroom inspired by the river landscapes of udupi
kubja bedroom inspired by the river landscapes of udupi

varahi

varahi bedroom featuring flowing epoxy and kaavé wall patterns
varahi bedroom featuring flowing epoxy and kaavé wall patterns
varahi bedroom featuring flowing epoxy and kaavé wall patterns
swarna bedroom opening toward private sea-facing sit-outs

swarna

swarna bedroom opening toward private sea-facing sit-outs

illa by the sea

Located along the Thottam shoreline, Illa by the Sea avoids the typical image of a glass-walled beach villa. Instead, it responds to the larger landscape of Udupi, a region shaped by eight rivers that flow into the Arabian Sea. This meeting of land and water forms the main idea behind the design, helping the house connect not just visually to the coast, but emotionally and culturally to its surroundings.

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