The site is a narrow plot in a row-housing colony engulfed on the three sides. The client’s expectations were based on local trends and so the brief was to design a house that could accommodate the maximum number of rooms within the permissible area limit. The ground floor was for the owner and the first floor preferably had to be rented out to another family. The challenge as an architect was to fit into the conventional thinking and yet innovate!
Area: 194 m2
Built Area: 126 m2
Year of Completion: 2022
Year started: 2021
Project Name: House with all that Jazz
Office Name: Khudrrang Design Studio
Project Location: Hisar, Haryana, India
Program: Residential
Lead Architect: Hitesh Rathi
Design Consultant: Trishla Chadha
Photographs: Rjjwal Bidlan
Engineer: Ganga Singh
Supervisor: Rajkumar Kambra
The front elevation of the house was designed with a three-dimensional perspective view from the main entrance gate. The design composition evolved based on an imaginary scenario of strangers playing jazz music. As the music heightens, the small polygons start to appear within the major polygons in the elevation. Just like jazz, the house on entering inside becomes livelier with capabilities to transcend. An Indian classical instrument was added to this jazz ensemble.
The Indian Culture has a rich heritage and complex traditional values. With dependencies on the west, the inappropriate amalgamation of the east and west gave rise to a planning pattern that had its resultant flaws. So, the existing planning pattern was reconsidered to produce a plan that could retain the old spatial hierarchies while encouraging the lost cultural values that still persist or need to persist.
An efficient design for an Indian mind could be one that serves multiple uses. The courtyard was justified as it also had multiple uses – ventilation to toilets, daylight in main areas and toilets, extra seating area for frequent visits or discussions, and accessible space with a view of greenery. Being an architectural psychologist, it is known through Affective Aesthetic Theory (AAT) that human beings prefer natural over built spaces because that is how they evolved. The presence of greenery and daylight in the main family areas would encourage more usability over the bedrooms. Privacy and segregation induced by enclosed walled spaces lie in contrast to the Indian culture, a culture that believes in collectivism.
Due to the narrow, long shape of the plot, the design was thought of in long visual axes to create an illusion of the house being very large. One of these visual axes from the entry point of bedrooms to the main entrance gate lets the user be aware of the visitors while staying indoors. Also watching other humans is what humans prioritize as per evolutionary sciences. The planning supports the frequent social gatherings by automatically perceivable division of spaces for men and women while providing the same view of the courtyard and seating along with it while connecting both spaces aurally.
The working pattern was also inspired by the way a Jazz Orchestra works. The laborers got opportunities to give ideas on improvising the details with their practical knowledge and skill set. This resulted in a few more efficient details and sparked a feeling of compassion and love towards the house that they were building.
