Timeless Houses: Stunning Architecture You Wouldn't Believe
The new book by architect Kapil Aggarwal showcases 17 exemplary homes designed by top experts from four countries
Aditi Sharma Maheshwari
13 December 2017
Blogger, dog mom
What makes a home timeless? Is it its judicious use of space and materials, the way it embraces its surroundings, the experience it provides the user or the strong design language it conveys? Timeless Houses, a book curated by architect Kapil Aggarwal of Spaces Architects@ka, explores the question through 17 exclusive projects completed by celebrated architects across four countries – India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The book elucidates the conception and completion of projects, the unique architectural tale each weaves and the vision that went behind creating every home. The pages offer a walk-through experience and provide gripping information about houses, where each is a masterpiece in its own standing. Here we preview nine of the brilliant works compiled within the book. Sit back and revel in the visual wonders…
1. Retreat in the Sahyadris
Architects: Sandeep Khosla and Amaresh Anand,
Khosla Associates
Location: Sahyadri mountain range, India
The weekend retreat shows a design language that echoes its surroundings – a harmonious marriage between
clean lines and simple forms built with natural materials, all set against the backdrop of the stunning mountain range. A skylight, infinity pool and comfortable reclining seating gives the abode a pensive, meditative quality.
Architects: Sandeep Khosla and Amaresh Anand,
Khosla Associates
Location: Sahyadri mountain range, India
The weekend retreat shows a design language that echoes its surroundings – a harmonious marriage between
clean lines and simple forms built with natural materials, all set against the backdrop of the stunning mountain range. A skylight, infinity pool and comfortable reclining seating gives the abode a pensive, meditative quality.
2. Mamun residence
Architect: Md Rafiq Azam,
Shatotto Architecture
Location: Chittagong, Bangladesh
Although faced with scorching sunlight and strong winds, the home’s clever design follows that of a Bangladeshi wide hut – it uses layered parasols in its architecture, along with exposed concrete, an open pool and a garden at different levels, which help the place withstand and even flourish under the extreme climatic conditions.
Architect: Md Rafiq Azam,
Shatotto Architecture
Location: Chittagong, Bangladesh
Although faced with scorching sunlight and strong winds, the home’s clever design follows that of a Bangladeshi wide hut – it uses layered parasols in its architecture, along with exposed concrete, an open pool and a garden at different levels, which help the place withstand and even flourish under the extreme climatic conditions.
3. K Lagoon
Architect: Kamal and Arjun Malik,
Malik Architecture
Location: Alibaug, India
This home emerged deep within a heavily forested area – the core effort of the architects being to give form to a structure with minimal impact to the surroundings. The house shows a contemporary take on traditional Konkan architecture, with the use of wooden beams, undressed stone, sloping roofs and calming water bodies that connect the house to the verdant outdoors.
Take a tour of another Alibaug home designed by Malik Architecture
Architect: Kamal and Arjun Malik,
Malik Architecture
Location: Alibaug, India
This home emerged deep within a heavily forested area – the core effort of the architects being to give form to a structure with minimal impact to the surroundings. The house shows a contemporary take on traditional Konkan architecture, with the use of wooden beams, undressed stone, sloping roofs and calming water bodies that connect the house to the verdant outdoors.
Take a tour of another Alibaug home designed by Malik Architecture
4. Collage House
Architect: Pinkish Shah and Shilpa Gore-Shah,
SPS+ Architects
Location: Navi Mumbai, India
An absolute standout feature – a collage of recycled windows sourced from a local market – makes up the dynamic facade of this home and also becomes a major backdrop for the living room. The exposed faceted concrete ceiling, intricate brass inlay on the floor, eco-friendly features like a rainwater harvesting tank and the use of local construction materials, together with the ingenuity of the interior and exterior design, give the home a unique character.
Architect: Pinkish Shah and Shilpa Gore-Shah,
SPS+ Architects
Location: Navi Mumbai, India
An absolute standout feature – a collage of recycled windows sourced from a local market – makes up the dynamic facade of this home and also becomes a major backdrop for the living room. The exposed faceted concrete ceiling, intricate brass inlay on the floor, eco-friendly features like a rainwater harvesting tank and the use of local construction materials, together with the ingenuity of the interior and exterior design, give the home a unique character.
5. Studio Dwelling
Architect: Palinda Kannangara,
Architect Palinda Kannangara
Location: Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka
Built as a modern fortification against the highrises coming up in the surrounding lush and green area, the house shows sensitivity towards the bounty of nature around it. It is designed using natural materials that ensure the home is always cooler than the outdoors. Internal gardens and ponds dot the house and large windows allow ample light, ventilation and swish views of the surroundings.
Architect: Palinda Kannangara,
Architect Palinda Kannangara
Location: Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka
Built as a modern fortification against the highrises coming up in the surrounding lush and green area, the house shows sensitivity towards the bounty of nature around it. It is designed using natural materials that ensure the home is always cooler than the outdoors. Internal gardens and ponds dot the house and large windows allow ample light, ventilation and swish views of the surroundings.
6. Brick House
Architect: Manoj Ladhad,
Sandeep J and Vimal Jain,
Architecture Paradigm
Location: Mysore, India
Showcasing a unique take on privacy, the facade, made of brick and mild-steel flats, takes centre stage. So does the intimate relationship of the built form with the surroundings – the lush garden, large windows, skylight, inner courtyard and outside decks create opportunities for the inhabitants to enjoy the beauty of nature around them.
Browse through more images of this home
Architect: Manoj Ladhad,
Sandeep J and Vimal Jain,
Architecture Paradigm
Location: Mysore, India
Showcasing a unique take on privacy, the facade, made of brick and mild-steel flats, takes centre stage. So does the intimate relationship of the built form with the surroundings – the lush garden, large windows, skylight, inner courtyard and outside decks create opportunities for the inhabitants to enjoy the beauty of nature around them.
Browse through more images of this home
7. Nest House
Architect: Aashish and
Bhavessh Patel,
Architecture & Beyond
Location: Surat, India
Cast-concrete exteriors, glass walls, a metal staircase and an 18-foot-high entrance door – all combine to create a unique, modern aesthetic. Nestled within a large green garden, the home borrows the open-to-nature-yet-sheltered-from-its-fury character of a bird’s nest, and the textured facades mimic the sticks-and-straw bird’s nest look on their surfaces.
Architect: Aashish and
Bhavessh Patel,
Architecture & Beyond
Location: Surat, India
Cast-concrete exteriors, glass walls, a metal staircase and an 18-foot-high entrance door – all combine to create a unique, modern aesthetic. Nestled within a large green garden, the home borrows the open-to-nature-yet-sheltered-from-its-fury character of a bird’s nest, and the textured facades mimic the sticks-and-straw bird’s nest look on their surfaces.
8. Chamara House
Architect: Thisara Thanapathy,
Thisara Thanapathy Architects
Location: Panadura, Sri Lanka
Architecture sings a classic song in this home, with rubble making up the foundation, clay bricks for walls, local timber for doors, a traditional courtyard and garden linking the outdoors with the open floor plan of the home. A graceful structure given form with local materials and skilled craftsmen.
Architect: Thisara Thanapathy,
Thisara Thanapathy Architects
Location: Panadura, Sri Lanka
Architecture sings a classic song in this home, with rubble making up the foundation, clay bricks for walls, local timber for doors, a traditional courtyard and garden linking the outdoors with the open floor plan of the home. A graceful structure given form with local materials and skilled craftsmen.
9. Diya House
Architect: Sanjeev Panjabi and Sangeeta Merchant,
SPASM
Location: Ahmedabad, India
A harmony of opposites, where the built form embraces nature. This house was made in a 2.9-acre plot that had 248 trees in it, and not a single one was cut. To mitigate the extreme heat that the region receives, along with designing large open spaces and windows, materials such as rammed earth and Corten steel were used throughout the house.
Want to know more about this house? Read on
Architect: Sanjeev Panjabi and Sangeeta Merchant,
SPASM
Location: Ahmedabad, India
A harmony of opposites, where the built form embraces nature. This house was made in a 2.9-acre plot that had 248 trees in it, and not a single one was cut. To mitigate the extreme heat that the region receives, along with designing large open spaces and windows, materials such as rammed earth and Corten steel were used throughout the house.
Want to know more about this house? Read on
The book is curated by architect Kapil Aggarwal of of Spaces Architects@ka, edited by freelance architecture editor, blogger and writer Mamta Upadhyay and published by the founder of Delhi-based Lalwani Books International, Nitin Lalwani.
The book is available on Amazon and in all major bookstores in India.
Read more:
8 Things Successful Architects and Designers Do
Tell us:
Which project did you like the most and why? Share your opinions in Comments below.
The book is available on Amazon and in all major bookstores in India.
Read more:
8 Things Successful Architects and Designers Do
Tell us:
Which project did you like the most and why? Share your opinions in Comments below.
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Truly... these are 'visual wonders'.