DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT:

A simple plan abiding by the rules of a basic grid, imbibing the principles of Vastu and strongly reflecting potential spaces shapes the concept of this 3X3 grid house.

The Piot measures 59TX104′. The house has been cast in grids measuring 14′, 8′, 14′ along the horizontal axis and 24′, 24′, 24′ along the vertical axis. The grids are laid on a level surface, which in return reveal the potentiai of a simple two-leveled plan. Scooping out the quintessential courtyards in these grids adds a traditional aura to the basic grid plan.

The house has a long entrance lobby, which is partially covered by a skylight and partially by slab. Entrance lobby opens into the living room and the vision expands and reaches the central courtyard. Kitchen is located in the front South East corner. The dining and the family follow the kitchen and align to the left of the court while overlooking it through the passage and the staircase. The centrally placed courtyard can be overlooked from various corners of the house and comprises of a kund with a sculptural temple tree (champa) in the center.

The 8′ centrai spine becomes the connector to all the spaces in the house. This spine at the ground level leads one to the rooms at the rear of the house. While the right rear corner becomes the gym, the left rear corner, which is the southwest corner, becomes the master bedroom. A straight flight staircase rises from the central spine and takes one to the upper level of the house. The lobby on the first level is flanked on either sides by son’s bedroom and daughter’s bedroom.

Son’s bedroom follows altogether a different vocabulary creating a dark scene inside. The whole room is painted in dark gray and peacock blue and finished with dark wood furniture. A small courtyard internally connects the room to the toilet. The spine at the second level winds into a plunge pool towards the end. To the right side of the pool lies the parents bedroom.

The front compound wall presents a rather subtle view by aid of pivoted panels, which hollow out the solidity of the wall and bring in some kind of momentum figuratively.

Material of construction:

Flooring: Ibris marble, flamed and brushed granite
Masonary: Nevasa stone and fine river sand plaster.

Special features:

There is an effort to build an inward looking house by pulling the basic outdoor landscape inside, both physically and visually, and providing such vistas in the interior of the house, which compel one to build an environment inside. Central courtyard becomes the soul of the house. The court is completely enclosed by means of huge pivoted doors painted in rustic hues and adorned with old, traditional Rajasthani hand-painted windows, picked up from Jaisalmer. The double height of the courtyard is devoid of the monotony of a dead slab by means of a narrow strip of skylight and small circular skylights. The ‘NAMOKAR mantra etched on the skylight glass casts its shadow over the wall and it changes its anatomy across the day. The courtyard boasts of various special features to be appreciated, be it the look imparted by the ‘CHAMPA’ tree or its scattered flowers across the black floor of the court, it is refreshing to imagine all the entities woven into one single space which would differentiate the identity of the space and the people occupying it.

Huge quantum of natural light disperses into the house through the long narrow skylight over the staircase. Long dead walls sandwich the staircase thus emphasizing the importance of a vertical volume and the light rays filtering in through this vertical volume provides a divine backdrop. The  house witnesses many impressions of some artistic work. A backlit tree cutout, inspired from Batik work, stands as an artwork and greets one to the top level of the house. The panel is painted in a rustic blue and a beautiful Rajasthani window fits into it. While opening the entire panel reveals the blue of the water body, the small inset window just gives a reflection of the water mass. The terrace on the other side of the pool boasts of the traditional “jharokha” window, treated with wooden jaalis (lattice work) and the very stylish mosaic work. The mosaic work on floor is treated as the reflection of a very contemporary tree cutout in the terrace wall.