<h5-red>CLIENT<h5-red> SAMEER KUKREJA I <h5-red>AREA<h5-red> 10,000 SQFT I <h5-red>STATUS<h5-red> COMPLETED IN 2009 I <h5-red>TEAM<h5-red> AMBRISH ARORA, SIDHARTHA TALWAR I <h5-red>PHOTOGRAPHER<h5-red> EYE PIECE
The brief for the residence of a well-travelled elderly couple and their children’s families outlined independent yet interconnected living spaces for all members while providing intimacy and warmth with ample sunlight in winter, indirect light in summer and ventilation.
<rt-red>The layout is generated on a challenging diagonal grid, which allows for the building to take advantage of the south-east face to draw in the winter sun and shade it in summer.<rt-red> The kitchen and toilets have been located on the west face of the house, keeping the heat out and reducing air-conditioning loads. This creates intimate nooks and corners within the house, defining spaces within spaces. The south and north-east faces have been opened up allowing for sunlight to penetrate deep into the house.
<rt-red>The plan, structured around a small, centrally-placed sky-lit courtyard, brings fresh air and daylight to all the rooms of the G+2 structure.<rt-red> The terraces on the south face are staggered to allow for the winter sun to reach deep into the rooms. Vaastu constraints were used as an opportunity to break up the ground floor and create a split-level circulation. By retaining the roof slab at a single height, the living room was given a 14 ft high ceiling. Furthermore, the inverted beam structure created full-height openings and established a strong connection between the internal and external spatial realms.
The materiality comprises elements that age and weather beautifully; keeping the construction honest to the materials used. <rt-red>Most construction has been kept exposed—from the Delhi quartzite rubble masonry walls that encapsulate the public functions of the house to the exposed saw-cut timber-shuttered concrete slabs.<rt-red> Services have been integrated into the house with careful insight, taking into account the exposed slabs and walls.
