This is a unique project that realizes itself as a negotiation between outward views and introverted planning. Located within a gated compound, the project houses a multigenerational family and staff. The test was to have each living, sleeping and entertainment space open to the outdoors without privacy loss. The principal big idea was to encircle the otherwise fragmented layout with a clean box like veil of vertical brick jaali.
The center of the home is a three floor tall courtyard void. This courtyard has a mesh pavilion atop to release the heat stack, hanging plants, misting system and pergola to shade from the searing Ahmedabad sun. The brick veil being a jaali allows air flow through hence facilitating convectional cross ventilation, keeping the home breathing. Local stones, salvaged wood and indigenous plants, come together with retractable sliding shutters to allow the house to be operated like a living machine, protecting the living spaces from dust, rain, and arid hot winds. This home allows for diagonal flow of filtered daylight through the year, and movement which is interwoven between indoor, outdoor and in-between experiences.
Though the lot is rather tight and the home compact, it affords a rather pleasurable life in close connect with nature, making it an endearing success. A sense of domesticity and privacy is achieved much like the erstwhile Jaisalmeri havelis.
Spasm 2023
Photographs: Umang Shah & javiercallejas.com