The Serai – SUJAN

Jaisalmer, Rajasthan - 2008

We were involved in advising the client on selecting the 25 acres from the larger 50-acre parcel for master planning, landscape and architecture design. The project is located in the shifting sand dunes area of Jaisalmer, Rajasthan in India and is spread over an area of 25 acres. It is a luxury tented safari resort with a spa, organic farm, and poultry. The layout of the 25 tents is inspired by the Serai (temporary cities of the caravans of the nobles). It is laid out in a formal axial geometry with one end as the super-luxury tent with a private pool and the other as the swimming pool and the public spaces. The elevated swimming pool provides the opportunity to see the setting sun in the infinite desert horizon. The landscape reflects the wilderness and biodiversity of the desert predominated by regional grasses, acacias and thorny vegetation. A nursery was set up on site to collect the seeds of the grasses, native plants, shrubs and trees as none of them was available in any nursery. Wastewater treatment is integrated into landscape design and is used to conserve the soil moisture through an underground indigenous technique of irrigating the plants.