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Bangalore Houzz: This Home Balances Principles of Vastu & Good Design
Clever use of height, space, proportions and light make the pristine white 'Lateral House' a calm family haven
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Manavi and Mahantesh Bellad, with their young daughter
Location: Bangalore, Karnataka
Year built: 2013
Size: 335 square metres (3605 square feet); 4 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms.
Architectural and interior designers: Gaurav Roy Choudhury, founder of Gaurav Roy Choudhury Architects
Photos by Tina Nandi
“The young family looked to me for something pure,” Gaurav Roy Choudhury, founder of Gaurav Roy Choudhury Architects, says. “They wanted the house to mirror their sensibilities of honesty and simplicity, and be a calm refuge from the chaos of the city.” The biggest challenge the architect faced while designing the ‘Lateral House’, located in a gated community on the outskirts of Bangalore, was a strict adherence to numerous vastu principles while sticking to a tight budget. Describing the home as a fluid, sculptural space, Choudhury explains overcoming this challenge by keeping design paramount and unrelentingly exploring the concepts of privacy, light and materiality.
Who lives here: Manavi and Mahantesh Bellad, with their young daughter
Location: Bangalore, Karnataka
Year built: 2013
Size: 335 square metres (3605 square feet); 4 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms.
Architectural and interior designers: Gaurav Roy Choudhury, founder of Gaurav Roy Choudhury Architects
Photos by Tina Nandi
“The young family looked to me for something pure,” Gaurav Roy Choudhury, founder of Gaurav Roy Choudhury Architects, says. “They wanted the house to mirror their sensibilities of honesty and simplicity, and be a calm refuge from the chaos of the city.” The biggest challenge the architect faced while designing the ‘Lateral House’, located in a gated community on the outskirts of Bangalore, was a strict adherence to numerous vastu principles while sticking to a tight budget. Describing the home as a fluid, sculptural space, Choudhury explains overcoming this challenge by keeping design paramount and unrelentingly exploring the concepts of privacy, light and materiality.
The facade of the house is bathed in smooth white surfaces, juxtaposed with pockets of exposed bricks on the elevations and raised courtyard. This raw finish is further enhanced by the extruded pattern in which the bricks have been bonded. The materials palette used on the exteriors and interiors expresses a subtle relationship between the house and its surroundings.
The house has been designed to be sensitive to its environment and experience every change in it. “The house breathes, much like an individual. Shadows, reflections and ventilation are affected according to the conditions outside,” Choudhury says. On the exterior, the projecting brick pattern intensifies the shadows that take varying shapes throughout the day with changes in natural light. This adds another layer of visual interest to the facade.
Find an architect near you to design your next home
Find an architect near you to design your next home
“The layout of the house centres around imaginary concentric lines of varying privacy,” Choudhury says. “There exists a sense of airy openness and connected spaces on different levels with private zones that have been kept hidden.” The entrance is located in the centre of the home and the main door opens into a triple-height public area that houses the living room. From the seating area one can look out into the north-facing garden and get a peek at the study on the mezzanine-level corridor.
This central zone leads to the dining room, puja room and kitchen at one end, with a guest bedroom, bathroom and powder room at the other end. Large windows and openings on every level allow natural light and air to flood the home.
Keeping in tune with the open-layout concept that still affords private zones, the kitchen is visually connected to the living and dining areas while being housed in a discreet separate nook. The cutouts near the ceiling of the kitchen allow for ample ventilation. White flooring tiles add to the openness of the house. The wooden cabinets and granite counter add warmth to the space.
The living zone is framed by a staircase on one end that leads to open corridors at varying levels. “Height has been used to aid in privacy. The staircase weaves up and as it climbs, it slowly becomes the element which expands the space and reveals the other layers,” Choudhury says.
Mirroring the exterior, white walls dominate the home, with a few pockets of natural wood and exposed-brick walls. Deep-blue and sunny yellow accents add the right amount of colour. The concrete ceiling that hovers above the triple-height space lends a raw, unfinished quality, while simple drop lights illuminate it.
Mirroring the exterior, white walls dominate the home, with a few pockets of natural wood and exposed-brick walls. Deep-blue and sunny yellow accents add the right amount of colour. The concrete ceiling that hovers above the triple-height space lends a raw, unfinished quality, while simple drop lights illuminate it.
“The first landing at the mezzanine level includes the study and the family guest bedroom,” Choudhury says. From the study one can look up to the more private, upper corridor with an internal garden. The sleek lines of the table and the simple wood-finish cabinets lend a contemporary, uncluttered vibe to the study. Natural light streams in through multiple windows fitted in an exposed-brick wall.
Both the study and the guest bedroom look out onto the north facing elevated courtyard, which sits directly above the car park and the home’s main entrance. “The house gets most of its light and ventilation from this central area as the bedrooms wrap around it. The house breathes through this space; it is from here that the outside seeps in,”Choudhury says.
“Coming back inside, another flight up, and the staircase becomes a longer rectangle. This level opens into the family bedrooms and the private spaces of the house. The daughter’s bedroom overlooks the courtyard while the master bedroom looks out onto the main gate of the home,” Choudhury says. This level displays blue accent walls adorned with framed paintings that add a rush of colour to the white home. From this corridor one can view the study and courtyard on the level below and access the last leg of the staircase with its open risers and simple railing, which leads up to the terrace.
A small internal garden becomes the focal point of this open corridor, bringing sunlight and greenery into the home. Opening to a skylight, the grassy plant-filled space is backed by an exposed-brick wall, merging the outdoors with the indoors in a private family nook.
The master bedroom is kept simple. The neutral colour scheme is paired with a few streamlined pieces of furniture and wall art in calming hues. Again, large windows flood the space with sunlight and keep the room well ventilated. “The house is energy-efficient, as it makes use of the ample natural light streaming in and circulates the air through the stack effect, which reduces the dependence on mechanical means to stimulate the conditions inside,” Choudhury says.
This story was first published in May 2018 on Houzz India.
Read more:
Baroda Houzz: Geometric Designs & Play of Contrast Define This Bungalow
4 Reasons Why White Walls Will Never Go Out of Style
Tell us:
What did you like most about this home? Tell us in Comments below.
This story was first published in May 2018 on Houzz India.
Read more:
Baroda Houzz: Geometric Designs & Play of Contrast Define This Bungalow
4 Reasons Why White Walls Will Never Go Out of Style
Tell us:
What did you like most about this home? Tell us in Comments below.