ZIVA – ACTIVE RETIREMENT COMMUNITY

Ziva is an ownership-based retirement community set in a 16-acre verdant green site 55km outside the southern Indian metropolis of Chennai, next to the UNSECO-designated heritage town of Mahabalipuram. The name ZIVA is inspired by the ancient Sanskrit language verse that means, “Guest is God.” The project offers options for residential units, from bright and well-ventilated apartments to individual villas set in a landscape where the key idea is resort living.
The design inspiration came from the rural landscape of Mahabalipuram, dotted with palm and fruit orchards. Built around an existing palm orchard, the design is about the efficiency and linearity generally present in productive landscapes. It made the landscape structure legible and circulation simpler and direct as many residents might have reduced mobility.