‘ O H A N A ‘ a Spanish word, meaning ‘family bond’, is an attempt by us to design a house with spaces and experiences that resonate the essence of spending time together as a family. Set in an environ of farmland the intent was to come up with a design that establishes a strong inside outside connect. A house that attempts to maximize the use of natural light for the interior spaces and address the various aspects of a contemporary modern lifestyle.
Project Name: Ohana House
Studio Name: ADND
Partner’s: Ar Anand Menon and Ar Shobhan Kothari
Completion Year: 2018
Area: 13790 sqft
Location: Vadodara, Gujarat
Photography: Photographix | Sebastian + Ira
The entrance driveway and vehicular drop off is characterised by calibrated granite clad walls and a fluted metal screen towards the garden side. The otherwise blank entrance facade with a singular door marks the entry point to the house. Strategically located in alignment with the entrance door is a larger than life brass sculpture by Navin Chahande.Taking into consideration the clients brief and various site forces, the plan is essentially a stretched linear box aligned with the cardinals to ensure that all functions receive ample morning sunlight and enjoy undisturbed views of the adjoining landscape.
At the core of its planning is the elongated verandah space that not only receives you when you enter the house but also acts as the connect between all functions at the ground level. The entrance door is flanked by a skylit visitor waiting area on the right and mandir to the right.one has to traverse a skylit waterbody to access the mandir. As you move along, you are received by a stunning ceramic and metal art installation by Gopinath Subbanna. The artwork not only creates a sense of pause but also announces the entry point to the formal living on the opposite side.
The formal living is a taller rectangular volume with floor to ceiling corner glazing that penetrates into the landscape beyond. The luxurious verandah space is characterised by the informal seating juxtaposed against the bar finished in micro concrete and high sheen corrugated copper. Soft mood lighting translates the naturally lit verandah by day into a high energy party zone at night with a seamless connect to the outdoors. Located off the verandah is the all black slate clad powder bathroom that adds to the lounge like experience.
Large sliding doors separate the verandah space from the informal family living space. The Centrally located family living acts as a connect between the master bedroom suite and guest bedroom on the ground floor and the staircase that leads to the upper floor. The all metal and wood open staircase sits on top of a shallow water feature enhancing its sense of lightness. The staircase features a free standing metal and sublimated aluminium screen in a series of random horizontal slats. The pattern on the screen is echoed in the external wall of the staircase that bears long linear slits. The linear slits give us a glimpse of the landscape on the rear side of the house as you move up. The bar code like geometry creates an interesting play of light and shadow through the day.
The kids bedrooms on the upper floor are punctuated by the media room which also doubles up as their lounge space. Dark tones in the furniture, fabric clad walls and ceiling punctuated by track lights add to the much desired theatrical experience. The extension of the media room is a all wood clad balcony. The media room announces itself on the exterior as a cantilevered wood clad box sandwiched between the floor slabs. It floats above the swimming pool like a diving board, in perfect alignment, inviting one to take a plunge.
The interiors of the kids bedroom couldn’t have been more like chalk and cheese. the son’s bedroom in hues of grey, dark wood tones and camel tan bed back clearly project a masculine taste and aesthetic. In sharp contrast to this the daughter’s bedroom explores a muted aesthetic with white stained oak wood for furniture and a very English setting. Her choice of fabrics and embellishments clearly make for a distinct style statement. They do complete justice to her vocation of fashion blogging and journalism.
The landscape design for the house attempts to compliment its open plan. The master plan for the landscape is broadly divided into the formal party lawn directly accessible from the drop off driveway and the family lawn that runs parallel to the house. Minimalistic in nature the design features a large pool with a built in pool bar housed between strategically located frangipani trees. The adjoining wooden pool deck boasts of the all glass gym on one side and the shaded gazebo on the other. Aligned with the pool bar, the gazebo acts as an informal hang out space to soak in the surrounding greens. The Fluted solid wood backdrop of the gazebo features a concealed door that leads to the in house spa and changing facilities. The landscape also features a 40 feet floating granite bench element with a backdrop of staggered calibrated granite walls and pampus grass.
ADND
Co-founded by Ar. Anand Menon & Ar. Shobhan Kothari, ADND is an architecture + interior firm curating boutique designs in the genre of residential, corporate, hospitality and retail. The firm has successfully completed over 16 years in practice and has a growing body of work with some of the renowned names of the society. With a team of 25+ designers aligned and determined to create a niche in the field of architecture and interior, the firm strives to meet maximum client satisfaction. At ADND, design is treated as a process; something arrived with due consideration of pragmatics but not limited by them. The firm dwells in atmosphere of “studio” practice combined with a sense of realism.
ADND constantly strives for a clarity of thought when it comes to the realization of spaces be it architecture or interiors. The partnership between Anand and Shobhan has encouraged dialogue on design possibilities and challenges that come with it thus creating visually striking spaces delivered within the parameters of pragmatics. The designers engaged at the firm further propel this idea of continuance and prevent stagnation of thought.
