Apartment #2

A silent, discreet lane shaded by a row of age-old, seasoned gulmohar trees on either side. The canopies enclose the street like an archway; filtered light falling on a yellow floor of sprinkled gulmohar flowers. Adjoining this archway, remains a fifty-year-old building discreetly nestled amongst the constantly changing high-rise fabric of the vicinity. The 1970’s concrete framed structure houses 4 apartments stacked one above the other, each of which have gone through a series of changes in ownership and use.

The project resides on the first floor of the condominium – a 1500 square foot family home, overshadowed by the vastness of these gulmohar trees. With an elevation of only 12’ from the ground level, the home overlooks an open ground, which over the years has turned into a small, quaint forest. It is here, where the design of the house emerges.

The cinematic presence of the dappled light and the ever-changing views of the forest extend into the subtlety of the design, presenting itself as a warm and restful aperture, very often enjoyed over a cup of tea at the carefully curated bay windows – adorning the north face of the building. These apertures are elevated beyond the comfortable seating height, just enough to frame the forest when resting in the interior of the rooms, while carving out an engawa like sitting space enveloped by the sound of rain, the occasional gulmohar flowers’ shower and the earthy scent of the forest on a misty morning.

Domesticated Opulence

Coming from a simple, hard-earned background – the client’s father took ownership of the house in 2001, as a home for his two sons and their growing families. A Gujarati Jain family steeped in simple living – the brief was to create a home, which glimpsed into the past, reminiscent of their father and his values, sincerity towards their rituals, the quiet of the surroundings and a haven for collectibles – all culminating into a comfortable space for gatherings and entertainment. As an apt response, the design gracefully celebrates the existing system of spaces with an austere effort to embody the prevalent spirit of the home.

As one approaches the house, a capsule like entryway made from reclaimed teak, adorns Hussain’s serigraphs, handpicked from the sons’ collection. A handmade clay tile floor crafted using the soil from the Abu region is laid throughout the house as a testament to the father’s roots in Patan and the nearby areas of Northern Gujarat and Rajasthan. A central living room with customized low seatings or 'baithaks' run along the periphery of the room, topped with pigmented 'gaddis' made from ‘kala cotton’, hand crafted in Kutch and designed by Leel. The intentional absence of a conventional coffee table, and a single television in the house set in front of this seating, allows for informal postures of lounging, reclining, sitting on the floor, afternoon naps as well as the post dinner television series’ or the occasional movie the family enjoys together.

With the age old habit of sitting cross legged while eating – on the far end, this baithak converts into a seating for a customized 5’X5’ eight seat dining table with cylindrical legs crafted from reclaimed teak and the top shaped into four triangular pieces of solid wood interlocked and glued with each other.
The walls of the house are washed in white lime keeping the house below ambient temperatures during the humid summers. Amidst these clean lines and sun kissed surfaces, the existing RCC framework finds expression through chamfered edges, softened corners and passageways leading into the various spaces of the house. A fairly deep beam and the partial opening of a wall, extend the living room into a small nook for a custom bar made from reused plywood, and stained using sindoor and charcoal to fashion an elegant maroon. Owing it to the elderly of the house, the bar remains tucked away most of the times in the form of a console, opening up during the occasional evenings of entertainment and merriment with friends and family.

Amidst these light touched walls, the design also emerges as a gallery to house the growing collectibles of the family. A stark red painting by Rahim Mirza hangs on the wall; an intricately sculpted stone bust of Vishnu rests on a teak wood pedestal. The son’s bedroom walls adorn line drawings by Kashyap Bhagat, photographs by Zahra Amiruddin along with image compositions created by the son himself.

In an age of over designing and a constant need for opulent validation, the design of the house attempts to negotiate this with an austere simplicity – a modernist home sophistically adorned with textiles, art, objects and brass. The traditions and rituals come to the forefront, embedded with just the right amount of opulence.