Houzz Tours
Pune Houzz: This Brick Abode Balances Vastu, Simplicity & Elegance
Alok Kothari Architects use brick walls and concrete to accentuate the raw beauty of this home
The architecture of this expansive brick house experiments with materiality and transitional spaces that maintain seamless links to the outdoors, too. The client wanted a simple and elegant house that would make a statement, have lots of natural light and be compliant with vastu shastra. Alok Kothari Architects took on the challenge to deliver a home that was aesthetically appealing and provided ease of functioning.
Adhering to the client’s requirements, Kothari decided to use brick as the focal material because it is environment- and weather-friendly, and sensible from a cost perspective.
“Brick and concrete are omnipresent across the entryway, adding to the warmth and aesthetics of the house,” Kothari says.
6 Contemporary Indian Homes With Brick Facades
“Brick and concrete are omnipresent across the entryway, adding to the warmth and aesthetics of the house,” Kothari says.
6 Contemporary Indian Homes With Brick Facades
The main door opens to an entrance lobby that serves as a transitional space. “The material palette, comprising a teakwood finish with light colours, helps in providing a neat, clean and spacious ambience,” says Kothari. “One side connects to the outdoor deck and the other leads to the living room. While the rest of the living area has neutral or wooden undertones, the blue modern sofas offset the monotony and add a burst of colour.”
Get the sofa you wanted by searching here
Get the sofa you wanted by searching here
The living room seamlessly flows into the southern part of the house, where there is a dining room and a staircase. Next to it is the kitchen, a utility area and an elevator. The north-east corner houses the puja room.
Living room sofa: custom made on site by the architects
Find a designer for your dream home
Living room sofa: custom made on site by the architects
Find a designer for your dream home
“The dining area is the magnet of the entire house and is anchored to the skylight right above it,” Kothari says. “The positioning of an L-type folded-plate ferrocrete staircase around the dining area adds a play to this central core.”
Wooden flooring: Ego; dining table and chairs: @Home
Wooden flooring: Ego; dining table and chairs: @Home
Complying with vastu norms, the dining table is placed right beneath the skylight. This doubles as the brahmasthaan – central core of the house as per vastu shastra. Lit up right through the day, the interplay of light and shadow converts this into a dynamic space.
Paint: Nerolac
Look through these photos of staircase designs
Paint: Nerolac
Look through these photos of staircase designs
The staircase leads to the first floor, which is a private sanctuary comprising bedrooms and a transitional lobby or seating space. “It’s an area that has a strong connection to traditional Indian architecture,” Kothari says. “The brick jali work on one of its walls emphasises this. In addition to providing privacy to the space, the jali creates a dynamic play of light and shadow throughout the day.”
With C-shaped low-level seating, this area doubles as a lounge.
Tiles: Kajaria
6 Reasons to Bring Jalis Into Your Home
Tiles: Kajaria
6 Reasons to Bring Jalis Into Your Home
“All four bedrooms have identical sizes and have attached bathrooms. In order to have parity, the look and feel of these has been kept similar. However, a unique pattern engraved on the wooden surfaces is what defines and differentiates each room.” says Kothari. For example, the master bedroom has a herringbone pattern on the headboard and wardrobe.
The daughter’s bedroom on the first floor has a diamond-shaped pattern, while straight lines define the guest room..
Curtains: D’décor; cushions: Home Spread
Curtains: D’décor; cushions: Home Spread
Outside, metal grids create visual interest on the terrace. They create an interesting contrast of light and shadow, and offset the earthiness of the bricks.
The main entrance door (which opens to the living room) also leads to an outdoor deck. This space sings vernacular elements such as a Rajasthani swing complete with carved columns.
“The square grid of rough cement finish plaster on the compound wall accentuates the presence of bricks. In order to break the monotony of the brick façade and also to provide privacy, jali work (a perforated wall in brick) has been used,” concludes Kothari.
Read more:
Bangalore Houzz: This Home Celebrates Light, Brick & Floating Balconies
Houzz Tour: This Mysore Home is a Unique Exploration in Brickwork
Tell us: What did you like most about this home? Tell us in Comments below.
Read more:
Bangalore Houzz: This Home Celebrates Light, Brick & Floating Balconies
Houzz Tour: This Mysore Home is a Unique Exploration in Brickwork
Tell us: What did you like most about this home? Tell us in Comments below.
Who lives here: Five members of the Kothari family
Location: Pune, Maharashtra
Year built: 2019
Size: 242 square metres (2600 sq.ft.); 4 bedrooms; 4 bathrooms
Architectural and interior Designer: Alok Kothari Architects
Photographs by Hemant Patil
“This house primarily stands for one aspect – simplicity. The exteriors as well as the interiors project a clean, neat and tidy look. While designing the house, we consciously made an effort to steer away from chaotic elements, such as too many projecting surfaces, artificial or glitzy cladding materials, noisy colour palettes, and so on,” says Kothari.
The firm researched and explored different architectural expressions, which took them to the traditional residential typology of Pune, the wada architecture, which typically comprises a large building of two or more storeys, and an open courtyard with rooms around it.
The facade of the house has been kept subtle, focusing on highlighting the materiality of brick. Kothari uses the earthy palette of brick and concrete, while emphasising patterns for a natural and playful look. The same continuity is also maintained indoors. “Shapes and patterns boost the energy flow and generate positive vibrations,” says Kothari.