Hathigaon (Housing for Elephants and their Mahouts)

Amber, Rajasthan, India

Photo © RMA Architects

Drawing © RMA Architects

Photo © Carlos Chen

Photo © Robert Stephens

Photo © Carlos Chen

Photo © Robert Stephens

Photo © RMA Architects

Architects: RMA Architects

Year: 2011

A housing project for a 100 elephants and their Mahouts (elephant care-takers), Hathigaon (elephant village) is situated at the foothill of the Amber Palace and Fort near Jaipur. The design first involves structuring the landscape to create a series of water bodies to harvest the rain runoff, as this is the most crucial resource in the desert climate of Rajasthan. With the water resources in place, an extensive tree plantation and seeding program was carried on the site to propagate and stabilize local species.

The housing units are organized in clusters and situated on portions of the site that are not used for the landscape regeneration. Courtyards and pavilions supplement the otherwise small spaces that are allocated in the budget for this essentially low-income housing project.