Unnati – The Urban Courtyard House is a special project designed for a client who had been following our work for a few years. Apart from the program and a few indicators for sizes of spaces (generous but as much as possible – more garden and less house), we were given carte blanche to experiment and create a unique design.
Within the 4000 square feet plot, the plan resolved to a ground coverage of 60% of built area, leaving out space for a generous courtyard and larger than usual setbacks. Riffing off the traditional Indian courtyard house pattern which features a central courtyard, the house has an off-centered courtyard surrounded by rooms at varying levels. The play of levels creates carefully proportioned volumes that enrich the experiential sequence through the house.
A design practice built on the philosophy of “simplicity and honesty”, Studio Chintala begins each project by asking what it means to its users and the context. With the aim to create spaces and experiences that discover the soul of the project, the function and the emotions of the people that interact with it. The studio believes that design is problem-solving, the process of finding the simplest and most logical solutions. Beauty is merely a by-product of the inherent simplicity and honesty of the design.
The house as we call “FARM HOUSE” is not really a Farm house in its literal sense. It’s a house for a retired couple who spent most part of their working days in the heart of Bangalore city. They wanted move out of the hustle and bustle into a quieter locality. This plot was in a gated community near Electronic-city which is the hub of all major IT giants. The minimum plot size was 10,000 sq.ft, with a lot of coffee plantation and eucalyptus trees around. The greenery, serenity of this gated community and the quietness made us name this house as the “Farm House”.
The house in the developing neighborhood of Hebbal in Bangalore, built for a young couple, was conceptualized around keeping the dichotomy between light and dark, solid and void to provide quality and volume to spaces. Since the shorter side of site faces the road, minimalistic approach was incorporated to make the whole depth of site to be read as a single space while change in minimum levels marks the functions of house.
The house was designed in keeping with the premises of minimalism: theoretical treatment of lighting, simplicity of form and rational are just some of the details that testify to the efficiency and elegance underlying this design. The stair court echoes the cantilevered staircase and reinforces the relationship between the spaces through a high degree of spatial connectivity.
Traditionally, in South India the word Darshini refers to a place that runs on the concept of ‘payfirst, eatlater’ Udupi style restaurants, which are similar to the fast food chains seen in the West. It was primarily intended to serve the rush hour crowd, and the dishes served were breakfast or snack items that require minimal fuss- both for the chef and the customer. A darshini set-up in Bangalore brings to mind steel tables jam-packed with customers standing around steaming plates of idli-vada, sipping a filter coffee and looking out onto the street which might just be inches away. Our clients approached us with a simple brief – “a darshini on the site along the highway in Hoskote”
A Single residence in a 40’-0” X 60’-0” plot evolved from a rigorous inquiry into the particulars of location and program. Our client, Mr. P.V.Varghese, is a valued partner, in our collaborative design process. As a response to his design brief, we came up with idea of “Tree hugger House”.
“As an architect, one needs to design a built environment, rather than just being a shelter.”
With the understanding of our clients background (from Kerala-God’s own country), priorities, values and inspirations, likes and dislikes we got to know our challenges. First one was to create a contemporary residence with Values of Kerala architecture and interior spaces that would resonate with the client’s personality.
Sunrise is located in the industrial suburb of Bangalore. This project was conceived using affordable materials and parts of an existing building to keep project costs down. We wanted to create a cosy environment for this family-owned business. To achieve this, we chose to use simple, muted materials such as wood and concrete, and added plenty of vegetation.
The restaurant comprises of an open-plan dining area with a garden extension featuring raw materials and an assortment of plants. It accommodates indoor and outdoor dining for lunch and dinner. Tables and chairs are arranged around a small court filled with plants, which is positioned next to a staircase. The stairs ascend to upper floor providing additional seating that overlooks the court. The upper floor of the cafe provides a view of the sky and is partly covered by mushroom like umbrella structures to protect from direct sunlight. On this level, guests can also choose to sit outside on a covered terrace lined with bamboo-filled planters or the indoor dining area.
Located in the Landmark Indian Express Building on Queens Road in Bangalore, the name of this Bar, Restaurant and nightlife venue is derived from the Road number and pin code of its address; No.1 Queens Road, Bangalore 1.
The building was originally designed in a 1930’s Art Deco Style and as Architects we wanted to further the Deco character of the building by integrating a prominent arched colonnade into the existing fenestrations on the street level. The Colonnade, painted in a deep red-oxide color recalls the visual language of the High court of Karnataka in the same precinct.
Jayanagar is 13% North and 77% South of the equator. Name “Jayanagar” is supposed to have derived from the first name of erstwhile Maharaja, the ruler of Mysore. During its inceptions, most of the plots and sites were reserved for various government officials and during expansion the site were allotted to general public.
Present day Jayanagar comprises of residents of cosmopolitan nature inhibited by the upper class conservative society. Since the advent of information technology and the cropping of various new layouts all around Jayanagar has made it a Commercial Hub. Hence the birth and requirement of a new pub “SALUT-GASTROPUB”.
The site previously formed part of the garden of a house occupied by the clients’ grandparents. The design of the new building was intended to minimise its impact on this existing house, both during and after its construction. A desire to maintain a connection with the existing house informed the decision to keep as much of the existing garden area as possible, and to position the entrance to the new building so it opens onto this space.
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