Vintage appeal meets modernity

Gurugram: If you ever happen to cross Sohna Road in Sector 48, you might come across a group of similar-looking red villas with grey sloping roofs. These houses

Gurugram: If you ever happen to cross Sohna Road in Sector 48, you might come across a group of similar-looking red villas with grey sloping roofs. These houses stand out from the surrounding high- rises. These residential villas, named Eldeco Mansionz, are a rare sight in the skyline of the city graced by glass-and-chrome structures.

HT Image

When you enter the 12-year-old property, you are greeted by a beautiful fountain and a club house, which replicates the architecture of the villas. In the front lawn, residents can be seen doing stretching exercises on colourful yoga mats early in the morning.

The Arcadian architectural style of the duplex villas reminds you of the American bungalows of during the First World War. The villas flaunt cylindrical columns on both levels supporting a protruding verandah and sloping roofs. The grey gable roofs are complete with dormer windows. The 141 villas are spread across 17 acres. They are divided into three different categories — 259, 303 and 350 square yards.

The over 500 residents of the society celebrate festivities throughout the year. The central lawn and the clubhouse area are the focal points of these celebrations. These include Lohri, Holi, Janmashtami, Diwali, Navratri, Christmas, New Year and others. For national holidays, like Independence Day and Republic Day, the lawn even has a permanent flag hoisting post. “Holi is one of the biggest celebrations we have. There are colour, food and fun,” said Shama Datt, a resident.

The residency’s clubhouse has a gymnasium, a swimming pool, a billiards room and a library. Adjacent to the clubhouse, one can find a basketball court, a cricket pitch and a badminton court. The books in the library are often donated, shared and bought by residents. Some books, like school text books, even get passed around. “My son just finished his 10th standard. I don’t need the books any more. So instead of just throwing them away, I donated them to the library, so that they can be picked up by another student. This happens a lot here; it helps to bring the residents together,” said Alka Budhirajan, a resident.

The society has 750 fully grown trees in its common areas, ranging from Neem to Gulmohar to Palm trees. These trees are planted along the perpendicularly dissecting lanes of the property that have vintage cast iron lamp posts. The presence of a large number of trees ensures the entry of birds. A three-year-old initiative to attract birds by the residents’ welfare society (RWA) seems to have paid off.

“On World Environment Day, we held a painting competition and every participating child was given bird feeders. Those were installed and maintained by the residents in front of their houses. Some have even added more feeders,” said Manish Narayan, president of RWA.

The residency also works towards using natural resources efficiently. Atop the clubhouse, one can find solar panels that can generate 25MW of power. The power thus generated is used for lighting up common areas. Both the residency and the individual houses have water harvesting pits.