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Manjunath Hathwar Urban House (Ahmedabad)
The villa comprises a formal living room, family room, 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, a study and powder room. The layout is inspired by the traditional Indian courtyard house but radically reinterpreted and adapted to a contemporary context. The initial design was considered on a single plot of around 12000 sq.ft. with the brief that the garden area needed to be maximised. This was achieved by arranging the structure toward the periphery in an L shape and keeping the rest of the plot vacant.
FIRM NAME Space Dynamix PRINCIPAL ARCHITECT Manjunath Hathwar SECOND ARCHITECT Ashutosh Wad EDUCATION/AFFILIATION B. Arch, Sir J.J College of Architecture, Mumbai BUILT UP AREA 7373 sq.ft. TEAM SIZE 16 people CONTACT 102, Mahim Industrial Estate, Near K. J. Khilnani High School, Off Mori Road, Mahim (West), Mumbai, INDIA T +91 22 2444 4306, 22 4123 5025 E mail@spacedynamix.com W www.spacedynamix.com
PRODUCTS/VENDORS Paint: Asian Paints CP Fittings / Sanitaryware: Kohler, Flamina, Grohe, Roca, Toto, Artize Furniture: Life Master, Macchiato, B&B Italia, Element Furnishing: Bharat Furnishings Flooring: Classic Marble, Heritage, Greenlam Kitchen: Siemens, Hafele Electrical: Berker, Schneider Air Conditioning: Mitsubishi Heavy Electric CONSULTANTS/CONTRACTORS Structural: Dipesh Mewada Civil: Ridhi Sidhi Enterprise Landscape: Space Dynamix Electrical: B3 Services Plumbing: Yadavbhai G Dhavade HVAC: HVAC Corporation
wondrous The formal living room juts into this vacant space on one side thus forming a virtual courtyard enclosed on 3 sides. The adjoining plot was purchased during the course of construction. The central courtyard opened out onto this large garden space making the house a part of the garden area. The formal living room thus gets a panoramic view of the garden at the same time being segregated from the main living spaces affording them privacy. The inward looking layout allows various spaces to talk to each other across both levels creating an ongoing dialogue. The colour palette of grey and brown is omnipresent giving a feeling of continuity to the spatial flow. The striking grey marble, paired with bog oak veneer is enhanced by accents of wallpaper, feature marbles, bespoke installations to add character to individual areas.
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“The position of the central courtyard flanked by the structure on the south keeps it in constant shade resulting in a cool microclimate. Internal courtyards in the bathrooms serve to enhance air quality.�
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artful scapes
The adjoining plot was purchased during the course of construction. The central courtyard opened out onto this large garden space making the house a part of the garden area. The formal living room thus gets a panoramic view of the garden at the same time being segregated from the main living spaces affording them privacy. The inward looking layout allows various spaces to talk to each other across both levels creating an ongoing dialogue. The colour palette of grey and brown is omnipresent giving a feeling of continuity to the spatial flow. The striking grey marble, paired with bog oak veneer is enhanced by accents of wallpaper, feature marbles, bespoke installations to add character to individual areas. A conscious attempt is made to avoid creating dead spaces that do not contribute to the overall feel and flow.
Spaces flow into each other and walls dissolve into screens or glazed partitions that allow interaction between spaces as well as with the user. Each of the bedrooms features en suite and closet areas that seamlessly merge into each other but can be visually partitioned when required. Every bathroom also has a green landscaped space providing visual relief and a feeling of well being every time one enters. All rooms extend into the outdoors in the form of balconies, decks and terraces accessed through full height windows encouraging a connect with nature. These large overhangs also provide much needed sunshading in the extreme heat of Ahmedabad. Additionally, the South facade has minimum fenestrations to minimise heat gain while the north faรงade has large windows for daylighting. The west faรงade is also opened outto catch maximum breeze. The staircase is designed as a sculptural element composed of staggered alternate blocks of Statuario marble and wood with the staircase-well capped with an installation of lights custom fabricated in aluminium adding drama to one's ascent.
FIRST FLOOR PLAN
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
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15
14
5 8 17
3
13 12
11
4 4 7
5
10
2
9
3 2
5 6
5 8
3 7
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GROUND FLOOR PLAN
FIRST FLOOR PLAN
1. PARKING
11. KITCHEN
1. MASTER BEDROOM
2. ENTRANCE
12. POWDER TOILET
2. TERRACE
3. FOYER
13. SERVANT ROOM
3. CLOSET
4. FORMAL LIVING ROOM
14. UTILITY
4. BEDROOM
5. DECK
15. STORE ROOM
5. STUDY ROOM
6. LAWN
16. WATER BODY
7. BEDROOM
17. MANDIR
8. CLOSET TOILET 9. DINING 10. FAMILY ROOM
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the challenges Designing a large house that had interactive and inter communicable spaces was a challenge along with the requirement for the party lawn. The structure was actually designed for half the current plot as the adjoining plot was not with the Clients when work started. In order to get a large enough party lawn and also to create spaces that communicated with each other we took inspiration from the traditional Indian courtyard house - Havelis, house where all the spaces open out onto a central courtyard which is the main communal space which allows excellent communication and also allows for great cross ventilation keeping indoors cool during hot summers of Ahmedabad. This basic concept is radically reinterpreted and adapted to a contemporary context in the Villa. The structure is arranged in an L shape along the South and East sides of the plot keeping the rest of the plot vacant creating a spacious party lawn also acting as a communal courtyard as all rooms open onto this.
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TEXT CREDITS Courtesy: the Architects
PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS Radhika Pandit
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