Vision
Design should be a link between the present and future generations

The designing of a home is designing a lifestyle. It is not only bringing together of soil, climate, material but also centers around the lifestyle of the people who will habitat that dwelling. For each design and client there is a unique combination of influences – people, places, events, memories and perception (absorb and observe). The retention of three huge local trees with widespread branches became a design driver and resulted in the shape of the villa L shape. The second consideration that influenced the architectural response was the client’s request for the kitchen to be centrally located, it had to feel connected to the events unfolding in the rest of the house. The low-rise dwellings around the site and the bylaws of the city were other influencing factors. The design is directed towards simple, stark clean and uncluttered interiors and volume of spaces. There is a fluidity of spaces with a certain dependence between them, helped the semi-private and private spaces to be interactive, triggering diverse sensations and moods to encourage communication. It all starts with a refreshing planned landscape, featuring carefully-curated, climate-correct plantation. The entrance veranda is surrounded by the water body. The double-height volume of the living room connected to the surrounding landscape through the double-height glazing overlooking the garden. Dressed in cool blues (in response to the harsh south-west sunlight) and wood, it features an installation of uniquely designed lamps made up of essentially wood and latticed with cane work, hung from the double height of the living room in a cluster of three distinctively integrated formations to throw light softly. The natural light filtering through the huge windows unhindered by any grills, looking out onto the garden. The double height glazing has been camouflaged by wooden louvers on the exterior side to break the harsh sunlight from the south-west. These louvers are an integral part of the elevation too, and thus become a wooden curtain with dual function – inside and outside. The colour theme and proportion of the spaces and furniture is in unison to the integrity of the central thought: straight lines and following a grid. The staircase that leads to the upper level affords views into the living room, dining area and the main entrance as it is wrapped around the central courtyard acting as a bridge around the house, a centrifugal force. Both the bedrooms enjoy satiating views of the surrounding garden. The larger bedroom sprawls out onto the terrace garden, bedecked with large customized planters made in concrete. All the corridors receive ample sunlight and give rise to a feeling of calmness and serenity. The warm natural light moves around the house bringing about a vitality. Essentially all the rooms receive sunlight and natural breeze almost throughout the day resulting in optimal ventilation yielding in a comfortable internal environment.