Breaking away from the hustle and bustle of Delhi, this Chattarpur residence takes an approach to design where humans and nature are not considered separate, but rather a continuation of each other. It is designed to reconnect the residents with nature using architecture as an intermediary.
Location : New Delhi, India
Area: 7000 sq. ft.
Photography Credits : Ankush Maria, Deepak Budhiraja (Landscape)
Furniture by : Punam Kalra
Principal Architect : Deepak Kalra
Design Team : Shifaa Kalra, Aarushi Kalra, Dhruva Kalra
Firm Name : I’m D’sign
Year of completion : Jan, 2022
It’s a space where architecture is more than an autonomous art form, and concerns itself primarily with the enrichment of the human spirit. Materials when not limited to their physicality become an open playground to include light, wind, colors of seasons – things that appeal to the senses making the first impression of the house more emotional than visual.
As one enters, the handsomeness of pure geometrical forms is celebrated against a beautiful lush landscape studded with surrealistic sculptures. The built form and nature experientially fuse in together while visually holding their own identity.
Architecturally, the house is a composition of solid volumes textured by a combination of artisanal tactile finishes such as sculpted stone walls, metals flowing in wood along with the non-tactile playful manipulation of light’s interactions with these honest materials. The entrance is marked by a striking ochre stone floor with a kaleidoscopic inlay of butterflies. Its true-to-life appeal sings of an eco-affair, mystified through the house’s ambivert setup.
On the inside, an elemental architectural approach is crafted to maximize not only the connect to the outside but also to give a perfect complimentary backdrop to the artwork collected by residents over decades.
The curved silhouettes of the furniture, fluid frames of the décor pieces and underplayed grandeur of the accents find the subtle intermediary between the comfort and luxury aspects of a contemporary home and explore the world of bespoke. The materials come to surface with a tactile character and artisanal make as molten brass doors, engraved wood consoles, cocoon chairs, log tables, origami light fixtures, and more that compose the space seamlessly, into a beautiful mélange.
Nature cuts deeply into both the architecture and the lives of the inhabitants, forging a dialogue with both. Shafts of sunlight penetrate the stillness and geometric purity of the spaces. The play of light and shadow through the day within these spaces is what makes these natural elements acquire an actuality, making well-proportioned neutral spaces fluid. Elegant slits between art covered wall and ceiling in the living room generate a poetic rhythm of light during the course of the day.
By measuring time and nature through the movement of shadows, or the sound of rain, framing the changing seasons, these apertures unite the life of the space with the life of its occupants.
The house is laid out in a manner such that all spaces open to the exterior maximizing the effect of natural light within the house whether it be through an internal sculpture garden, large glazing’s giving uninterrupted views or by gaps between the slab and the wall, the house is designed to welcome light across all seasons.
In being one with nature, the residence accommodates the essential functionalities with sustainable imprints that make it a truly contemporary piece of architecture. The high-performance design makes way for insulative clean-cut walls, energy-efficient window systems and solar paneled roofs that give a climate-sensitive quality to this Delhi residence. Rainwater harvesting system creates a parallel in tracing the sustainable footprints, with smart water management that makes the entirety of the house foresee a better, greener tomorrow.
