In Bangalore, and across India, rampant growth has led to a boom in new construction, especially for housing. When a young couple approached local firm Collective Project to build a new home in the city’s residential sector, designers Eliza Higgins and Cyrus Patell wondered if they could use the project to address the abundant waste that often accompanies new construction.

Typically, building new in Bangalore involves demolishing old buildings, and disposing of ever more construction debris is a growing concern in the city. “There was an original house on the site, but we quickly realized there was nothing we could do with the existing home to work with the clients’ brief,” explains Collective Project designer Eliza Higgins. “We wondered, ‘if we’re not going to use the existing building, can we reuse the material? What if we look at this not as debris and waste, but actually as a resource?’”

The firm collaborated with a retired scientist from the Indian Institute of Science who studied earth construction to devise a mixture of lime, soil, cement, and construction debris from the existing building, which was then cast into blocks. After testing to ensure the blocks’ structural capability, Higgins and Patell decided to use the blocks as the primary construction material for the new three-story home. “We wanted to be as responsible as possible in designing this house,” explains Higgins. “As a practice, we’re interested in using local and traditional technologies, but in a very contemporary way.”

The resulting 4,800-square-foot home maximizes the tight footprint of the site, which sits on the inward corner of a U-shaped road. “You just have one little sliver where you see the driveway entrance, and the rest of the plot is set back,” explains Higgins. “There’s not much room for a garden on a property of this size, so our whole concept was to respond to a gigantic mango tree on the site so we could bring the landscape up vertically.”

Orienting the rooms around a central daylit atrium and prioritizing transparency wherever possible allowed the architects to bring the outside in, and maximize daylight inside. “We designed the whole house to be very open and transparent, and to have diagonal views,” says Patell. “We tried to find a way to make this house feel like it had a much stronger connection to the landscape than originally seemed possible, based on the size of the plot,” explains Higgins.

At the entrance, the home’s emphasis on incorporating greenery begins via a small covered parking area capped by planters containing grapefruit trees and cascading plants. Inside, the ground floor contains the main living area and kitchen, along with a dining area and guest bedroom. Above, the second level holds the family room, which enjoys views through the open stairwell across to landing on the opposite side, and an additional bedroom. The house is capped with a music room and the primary bedroom. “The staircase becomes an informal seating area as well,” says Patell. “From there, you can see the home’s multiple volumes.”

Throughout, the custom bricks serve as the primary material for the home. “For us, the material decisions and spatial qualities come together,” says Higgins. “The ground floor is exposed concrete and glass, and above that is the block. It can become overwhelming if it’s all around you, so we focused the block on moments within the interior.” The material is expressed on internal walls facing the central stairway, and it makes up all of the exterior walls.

Although the designers were keen to express the bricks throughout, they also wanted greenery to be the star. Huge planters on many of the facades, along with lemon, avocado, grapefruit, and mango trees help break up the commanding facade. “In all of our projects, we’re really happy when the house just disappears into the landscape,” says Higgins.

While Higgins and Patel hope the upcycled blocks they developed for this home can set a precedent for more sustainable design solutions in the region, they understand that each project is unique. “For every one of our projects, there’s a different material story that makes sense,” says Higgins. “It’s not something we would ever force onto a project, but we’re definitely interested in the process of making the blocks and seeing how we can evolve it.”

Ultimately, the home tells a story of its site that goes beyond the native plantings that frame it. “There’s nothing about the design and the materials that shouts the history of the project, but the clients really appreciate it,” says Higgins. “The blocks remind us that there’s a story of memory of every site that’s important—not only to us, but to the people who live there.”

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Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Collective Project / @collectiveproject

Structural Engineer: Shivanand & Associates

Civil Engineer: BRR Engineering

Landscape Design: Indo American Nursery

Cabinetry Design/Installation: OAKTREE

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