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Prashannt Prabhakar Shetty Manjushree Niwas (Nasik)
The project came about because of the client’s emotional attachment to a home that had seen the family grow from strength to strength. Therefore, the decision to refurbish and update it, with specific functional and aesthetic directives: an addition of a bedroom on the first floor and a general refurbishment programme that eschewed glitz and the merely cosmetic. Externally, refurbishment meant adding a skin around the existing structure. The advantage of this strategy was twofold: ‘erasing’ dated architectural elements such as chajjas and adding more contemporary strokes to the elevation, and creating a cavity that would greatly increase the comfort quotient of the internal environment. Internally, it meant optimising the spatial configuration with an emphasis on pleasing room proportions, ease of maintenance, pragmatic design strategies and understated treatments.
FIRM NAME Design Konvergence PRINCIPAL ARCHITECT Prashannt Prabhakar Shetty EDUCATION/AFFILIATION B.Arch, Dr. D.Y. Patil College of Architecture, Navi Mumbai COA BUILT UP AREA 3200 sq.ft. TEAM SIZE 6 people CONTACT 502, 5th Floor, Sai Chambers, Near Santacruz East Bus Depot, Mumbai 400055, INDIA M +91 9870020678 E prashanntshetty@designkonvergence.com
PRODUCTS/VENDORS Paint: Asian Paints, Me Casa CP Fittings / Sanitaryware: Kohler Furniture: Custom Furnishing: Drape Shop Flooring: Botticino Lighting: Corvi LED Lights, Hybec Air Conditioning: Hitachi CONSULTANTS/CONTRACTORS Structural: Mr. Sudarshan Annavade Contractor: Mr. Kumar Rao Landscape: Design Konvergence Electrical: Mr. Thackeray HVAC: Hitachi
beyond the cosmetic Though the refurbishment called for alterations, these were not to be mere decorative flourishes. The addition of an extra skin, for instance, reduced the internal heat gain of the south-facing structure. Similarly, though the external walls that housed the living room were knocked off and replaced with a finned element, the slatted expanse controls visibility, acting like a one-way glass in the day - thus, offering a connection with the outside, but not at the cost of privacy. The seemingly fragile fins conceal a custom made core of 316-grade stainless steel. Plus, the overlays of glass and a fine mesh, take care of the pragmatic aspects of air-conditioning and insect control.
“The material palette is familiar, comfortable. The selection has been made on the basis of a material's inherent richness and the scope to add textures for an inimitable handcrafted look.�
Top Left: Finned facade as seen at night time Top Centre: Additional columns crafted to support the new overhang slab and also act as a shading element for the room below Top Right: The finned facade element Bottom Left: Spill out area of the meditation room
Top Left: Lucid entrance verandah Top Centre: TV unit and quick dresser in master bedroom Top Right: Partially screened dining room with living area in backdrop Bottom Left: Living room Bottom Right: Daughter’s bedroom
sentimental retention
The barcode grooving done manually onsite on the kota stone bestows it with a unique handcrafted look. The idea was to use a material on the facade that would not ‘age’ stylistically, and would therefore be timeless in its appeal. The existing structure was woven with new elements such that the new additions seemed to be an effortless part of the new entity. Now, the exteriors meld the contemporary and the traditional with great ease.
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
FIRST FLOOR PLAN
FLOOR PLANS 1. CAR PARK
11. DAUGHTER’S BEDROOM
2. ENTRANCE FOYER
12. FAMILY ROOM
3. LIVING ROOM
13. COMMON TOILET
4. DINING ROOM
14. DAUGHTER’S BEDROOM
5. PUJA
15. MASTER BEDROOM
6. KITCHEN
16. MASTER TOILET
6A. STORE
17. TERRACE
7. POWDER ROOM 8. PARENT’S BEDROOM 9. PARENT’S BATHROOM 10. MEDITATION / CASUAL LOUNGE
the challenges The most challenging part was to alter the look of the existing bungalow with its pitched roof and gable wall. The structure was enveloped in an extra skin all around the East-South-West-facing facades. This set the direction of the new design, albeit within structural restrictions. Internally, the challenge was to optimise the spatial configuration, keeping the pragmatic aspects in mind. Nothing could be superfluous or unnecessarily decorative.
the influences The design examines old elements and endeavours to present them in a new way. The finned wall, for instance, is not a novel element in the context of traditional Indian subcontinent design. Yet, its fabrication and construction are atypical. The idea was to work upon contemporary design, facilitated by traditional building materials and methods, to make the new structure more climate-responsive and timeless.
TEXT CREDITS Rupali Sebastian
PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS Sebastian Zachariah
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