Located in Vayitharamattom, Kumarakom in the lakefront region of Southern India, the Niraamaya Retreat is a haven for wellness and rejuvenation with sustainable design elements throughout. A product of Edifice Consultants Pvt. Ltd, an award-winning architectural practice based in India, the 65,000-square-foot retreat offers a contemporary feel while still honoring the traditional style of the region with locally sourced building materials. The boutique resort is spread across seven acres facing Lake Vembanad and includes 27 independent luxury villas, two restaurants, a health club, a wellness center and a spa. The spa features multiple treatment rooms, a pool and yoga pavilions, while the business center contains meeting rooms and an amphitheater. What sets this stunning coastal escape apart from the rest are the nods to classical Kerala architecture, a design style that incorporates traditional elements like sloping roofs, Mogappus and Charupadi, a type of built-in, ventilated porch bench. Locally sourced materials such as clay tiles for the roofing, granite pavilions and dados, laterite and wood are featured in the construction work. According to the designers, one of the biggest challenges for the project came in the form of high rainfall and water stagnation due to the site’s unique contours. To […]
Niraamaya Retreat honors traditional design with local materials

Latest Articles
Electric-car sales jump to record 54% market share in Norway in 2020 but Tesla...
Tesla's Model 3 was the bestselling car in Norway in 2019 but dropped to second place in 2020. The Norwegian government plans to...
America’s Newest National Park Is Also the First in West Virginia
Panorama of Horseshoe Bend from Grandview at New River Gorge National River, West Virginia. The U.S. is beginning the new year with a...
Hawaiʻi Scores Another Big Win in Stopping Harmful Aquarium Fishing, Protecting Reefs and Native...
Court closes loophole that allowed industry to illegally extract over half a million marine animals from Hawai‘i reefs in the last two years....
These Oxford Scientists Just Created Carbon-Neutral Jet Fuel From CO2
Silhouette of a departing passenger aircraft during a golden sunset. A team of researchers at the University of Oxford have revealed what they...
Montana Supreme Court Deals Final Blow to Mining Plan Near Yellowstone
A giant gold mining project proposal near Yellowstone National Park is officially dead, and Montanans’ right to stop such unlawful projects is upheld,...
The Radical Case for Growing Huge Swaths of Bamboo in North America
Three species of farm-cultivated bamboo towering in Hawkinsville, Georgia. Credit: Audrey Gray This report was made possible in part by the Fund for...