Buying a house in Goa can be as daunting as it is exciting. Architect Anjali Mangalgiri tells us all we need to know

Goa beckons with its sussegad lifestyle, where one can spend ones days in leisure, connecting with family and friends and also with nature. Most of us are retreating to Goa as an answer to our quest for the simple joys of life – fresh air, natural light, fertile soil, love and laughter – the essentials of well-being that are too often lost in the chaos of modern living. To accomplish that dream, a house in Goa must be designed to allow for outdoor living while balancing the needs of modern living and reducing the cost and effort required for maintenance.

The key design elements to consider in the design of the house in Goa are:

Earthy, luxurious design

Aim for earthy luxury that is designed for leisure and comfort in a relaxed setting while remaining true to the land and the place.

Focus on offering generous spaces with natural finishes, lots of daylight, breeze and access to nature. Attempt to reduce your ecological footprint on the site and surroundings.

When it comes to building materials, it is wise to use local materials. In most cases, the vernacular building techniques will use local materials and the local labour would be well versed with them. The green quotient of buildings can be further increased by choosing materials with a higher recycled content, higher recyclability, reusing salvaged materials and materials that are rapidly renewable such as bamboo.

Demand for good-quality construction adds to the lifespan of the buildings and reduces the need to spend additional resources to fix, maintain, repair and rebuild structures.

Indoor–outdoor spaces:

Look for indoor spaces that are flanked by generous outdoor spaces in the form of verandahs and courtyards. Ideally, the design should introduce large doors and windows in the walls between these indoor and outdoor spaces, which can be opened up to connect the two spaces and allow them to function as one space.

The verandah is the key feature to focus on. It offers protection from the hot summer and a heavy monsoon. When verandahs wrap around rooms, they also offer weather protection to the openings in the rooms both from the hot sun and the heavy Goa monsoon. When verandahs are planned in different parts of the house, they become spaces to enjoy at different times of the day and in different seasons.

Door and window design

While designing a house, plan for generous openings in the form of doors and windows to bring in ample daylight and fresh air, as well as offer lovely views to reconnect with nature.

Plan openings on at least two walls of a room to allow for easy cross-ventilation and try to align the openings to the prevailing wind direction on the site.

The openings should be designed to frame views and focus on key natural elements on the site, such as an existing tree, a water feature or rocky outcrop, or the views offered by the site.

Sustainable design

Designing or buying a house in Goa also comes with a responsibility, that of making every effort to preserve the biodiversity, culture and the natural environment of Goa, all the reasons that make Goa special. All construction activity must be aligned with the goals of sustainability to reduce our impact on Goa’s fragile natural and cultural landscape.

While enjoying indoor–outdoor living and the quintessential leisure offered by the idyllic Goan lifestyle, a house in Goa must be practical and allow for modern living. While we must try to reduce our footprint on the natural environment and shun the urban culture of excessive consumption, at the same time, a house in Goa must offer basic comfort for efficient functionality and easy use.

Maintenance

For a person who is looking at houses for sale in Goa, a key element to consider while buying a property is maintenance. If the house in Goa is used as a vacation home and is meant for intermittent use, then upon each visit, the homeowner should be able to enjoy the beauty and luxury of the house and not be inundated by a plethora of maintenance issues. These concerns take centre stage in Goa, specially due to the relatively heavy monsoon period in the region, which can lead to several problems of water seepage, mould and dampness.

Bugs and bats

Remember that you will be sharing your living space with bugs and reptiles, and sometimes monkeys and bats, while living in Goa.

Insist on mosquito net screens for doors and windows. These are vital to ‘resort-living’ and are sadly often omitted. The mosquito nets allow the home owners to keep doors and windows open without the concern for bugs, mosquitoes and other undesirable creatures from entering the house. The homeowner can in turn enjoy the sunsets, evening breeze and an indoor–outdoor lifestyle without making a compromise.