‘NEAR MUMBAI, SOUTHEAs COLONIAL 7 Architecture by Text by Penelope SIAN AND BRITISH TOUCHES MARK A GRAND HOUSE of the couple for whom he designed an Ag, India, residence (abn) on or a visitor new to the Mumbai const, the cultural differences be- gin at the front door. Or, rather, the lack of one, “Irs an open house,” the wife says of the plantation- style weekend residence that she and her husband share on the Alibag peninsula, just outside the « proper entrance.” Instead, you cane er the space she cals, “the main transit room” through any of its dozen tall, glass-paned doors. Or you ‘might step into another room altogether by way of the colonnaded corridor extend- ing around much of the exterior, its floor of Kotha stone, as reflective as water x with designer Sui Jas rer Mumbaic orin the entrance hall The vouve sat iv a tropical house, South according to its architect Phis is particularly true of the first floor, with its colonnade and stone arches. On the second floor, other influ- ences come into play: What Wijaya call its “timber elements" —balustra like—are classically South Ir some of the windows and from Southeast Asia ‘The architect is himself a hybrid. Born in Australia, he moved to Bali at the age of 35, changing his name from Michae! White and developing a reputation for his landscape designs. “I'm Truman Ca: www ArchitecturalDigest.com | 77