Delhi Houzz: This Inverted Home Has an Atrium as Its Heart
The breached monolith design of the Cleft House by Anagram Architects is like nothing you have ever seen before
Rashmi Haralalka
23 September 2019
Houzz India Contributor. I am a blogger who's passionate about writing, especially interior design, home decor, and home improvement. I believe that details are not just details... they make the design. Connect with me on:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/rashmi-sharda-b79b8119
Email: rashmiharalalka@gmail.com
Houzz India Contributor. I am a blogger who's passionate about writing, especially... More
The designers had to put together a cohesive home which integrated the lifestyle and choices of three generations staying together. “Being well travelled, the clients’ ideas were highly progressive in terms of congruence of spaces, compositions, and materials. Our shared vision with the clients was to reinvent the intrinsic nature of the outdoor space and relish the transition of the outdoor and indoor spaces,” says Vaibhav Dimri, co-founder of Anagram Architects.
Houzz at a glance
Who lives here: The Kumar family
Location: New Delhi
Year built: 2018
Size: 1340 square metres (14,425 square feet), 6 bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms
Architects: Anagram Architects
Photography by André Jeanpierre Fanthome, Suryan//Dang
Located in a busy street in Gujranwalan Town of New Delhi is the Cleft House with an unusual, eye-catching windowless facade. The facade is designed in a monolithic style and made of white marble panels that are mounted on a steel structure.
“Our design proposal revolved around the desire of the client to have a unique yet convivial home which promotes an introverted environment for their family,” says Madhav Raman, the co-founder and principal architect of Anagram Architects.
Who lives here: The Kumar family
Location: New Delhi
Year built: 2018
Size: 1340 square metres (14,425 square feet), 6 bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms
Architects: Anagram Architects
Photography by André Jeanpierre Fanthome, Suryan//Dang
Located in a busy street in Gujranwalan Town of New Delhi is the Cleft House with an unusual, eye-catching windowless facade. The facade is designed in a monolithic style and made of white marble panels that are mounted on a steel structure.
“Our design proposal revolved around the desire of the client to have a unique yet convivial home which promotes an introverted environment for their family,” says Madhav Raman, the co-founder and principal architect of Anagram Architects.
“As it is freed from the rectilinearity of fenestration, we imagined a multifaceted facade in triangulated geometry,” adds Raman.
What Contemporary Facades Do
What Contemporary Facades Do
The roof of the atrium is designed in a way to ensure plenty of natural light and ventilation, especially since the facade is windowless.
Find an architect to design your house
Find an architect to design your house
When one enters through the niched entrance, they walk over the glass floor overlooking the swimming pool in the basement (marked in blue).
The highlight of this home is the central atrium. It is finished in marble and wood to soften the ambience and add warmth.
“The design is a continuation of the main facade. The ‘bridges’ across the front and back are clad in black marble as a contrast to the white and accentuate the depth of the slit in the front facade,” says Dimri.
Marble: Stonex India pvt ltd
6 Atriums That Inspire Calm, Breezy Living
“The design is a continuation of the main facade. The ‘bridges’ across the front and back are clad in black marble as a contrast to the white and accentuate the depth of the slit in the front facade,” says Dimri.
Marble: Stonex India pvt ltd
6 Atriums That Inspire Calm, Breezy Living
The house has six levels, including a stilt floor and a basement.
Attached to the rooms are balconies with slender, closely placed steel pipes for balustrades.
Glass and aluminium: Art-N-Glass Inc.
Glass and aluminium: Art-N-Glass Inc.
The bridges have glass railings to enhance the sense of a void.
Steel: TATA Steel Ltd.
Steel: TATA Steel Ltd.
As you walk into the ground floor atrium, the living room is on the left. Most of the furniture (especially seating) is modernist and features squat and rounded forms. The bright upholstery balances the sharp forms and sleek monochrome finishes of the architecture. The furniture and furnishings were mutually decided between the clients and designers.
Look for furniture on Houzz products
Look for furniture on Houzz products
On the right of the ground floor atrium is the dining area. The line of view in the dining area extends towards the family living room and the kitchen to the rear. “Both the dining and living room follow identical typologies with wooden ribs spanning from walls to ceiling and textured backdrops in contrast with glossy lacquered finishes,” says Raman.
Kitchen, dining table and chairs: Euromobil
Kitchen, dining table and chairs: Euromobil
To the left of the atrium is a sculptural spiral staircase that goes the entire height of the atrium.
Wooden Decking: Notion Luxury Flooring Concepts
Most Popular Staircase Designs on Houzz India
Wooden Decking: Notion Luxury Flooring Concepts
Most Popular Staircase Designs on Houzz India
Dimri says, “Through the spiral staircase, different flanks stretch to the ensuite bedrooms at various floors.”
As it is situated in one of Delhi’s mid-density areas, Cleft House faces a very busy road. “Traffic-induced introversion renders road-facing windows and terraces redundant. Thus, the design is conceived as a breached monolith, where the rooms get natural light and ventilation from a quieter, sun-drenched, covered courtyard located deep in the centre of its volume,” says Raman.
Heating, ventilation and cooling: Mitsubishi
Paint: Asian Paints
Heating, ventilation and cooling: Mitsubishi
Paint: Asian Paints
The white colour of the facade continues into the interiors too.
Lighting: Vizion Lighting Pvt. Ltd.
Lighting: Vizion Lighting Pvt. Ltd.
“Each master bedroom houses a large fenestration that opens up into the balconies. Rotatable TVs are suspended from the ceilings to provide views from the bed and the lounging area. Opaque shutters hide the walk-in wardrobes and act as a backdrop to the bed,” says Dimri.
Furnishings in the bedroom: FnF
Furnishings in the bedroom: FnF
For the kids’ bedroom, the designers went with abstract patterns in textures and clean-lined, angular furniture. This room also serves as a multipurpose space for lounging and study.
Doors and windows: Metra windows
Doors and windows: Metra windows
In the home theatre, the designers opted for faceted surfaces with concealed lights and a washed concrete finish. Rounded low-line furniture gives a cosy vibe and breaks the monotony of the grey.
Furniture: Désirée SPA Italy
Furniture: Désirée SPA Italy
The stilt floor has the pedestrian and basement entrance, along with car parking, rooms for house staff and several other purposes.
The main entrance or landing leads to the ground floor, which has a wooden deck, formal seating and dining area along with the powder room, kitchen, pantry and so on.
As one enters the first-floor level from the staircase landing, the master bedroom is right in front. The master bathroom is on the left of the landing and the puja room on the right.
On the second floor, the kids’ bedroom is on the left of the bridge, along with a bathroom. On the right of the bridge is the TV room.
The third floor has another master bedroom and guest room.
Read more:
Delhi Houzz: Love, Light and Luxury Define This Home
Delhi Houzz: This Multigenerational Bungalow is a Zen Urban Oasis
Tell us:
Which feature of this house intrigued you the most? Tell us in Comments below.
Read more:
Delhi Houzz: Love, Light and Luxury Define This Home
Delhi Houzz: This Multigenerational Bungalow is a Zen Urban Oasis
Tell us:
Which feature of this house intrigued you the most? Tell us in Comments below.
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The architecture is mind blowing. But somehow the concept and feeling of "home" is absent.
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