A city bungalow for well travelled couple in their 50's, their daughter, their newly married son and his wife.

A home that allowed for independent living spaces for all the members and yet has a strong sense of inter-connectedness. A space that provides intimacy and warmth, along with ample sunlight in winter, indirect light in summer and ventilation. Vaastu compliance.

The orientation of the house on the plot. The layout is generated on a diagonal grid, which allows for the building to take advantage of the SE face to draw in winter sun and shade it in summer. The kitchen and toilets have been located on the west face of the house, keeping the heat out and reducing air conditioning loads.  This creates intimate nooks and corners within the house, defining spaces within spaces. The south and north east faces have been opened up allowing for sunlight to penetrate deep into the house.

The plan structured around a small, centrally placed skylit courtyard brings fresh air and daylight to all the rooms of the ground + 2 structures.  The terraces on the south face are staggered to allow for the winter sun to reach deep into the rooms.

The materiality of the House. A house that age and weather beautifully; keeping the construction honest to the materials used.  Most construction has been kept exposed, from the Delhi quartzite rubble masonry walls that encapsulate the public functions of the house, to the exposed saw cut timber shuttered concrete slabs.  The inverted beam structure allowed for creating full height openings and a stronger connection between the inside and outside.

Vaastu constraints were used as an opportunity to break up the ground floor and create a split level circulation. By retaining the roof slab at a single height the living room was given a 14’ high ceiling.

The diagonal grid - challenging to resolve all the functional requirements of the rooms and circulation. Integration of the services in a manner that they got integrated with the house esp. since the slabs and walls were exposed construction.