The required
An existing house on a beautiful plot on Circuit house road in Coimbatore – A requirement for a second home within the same compound. An open planned residence in tune with the old building was the client’s only expectation from the design with the possibility of showcasing their unique “edgy” art collection and life style.
Entrance
Free standing wall
Staircase
The link
The existing house was of a hexagonal plan and very modernistic in its language with very strong expressions of mass. We found it gratuitous to isolate the new residence and hence insisted on a way to harmoniously bridge the two masses. In an Indian context where most activities revolve around food and conversations over the table we felt these spaces to be the most appropriate bridge between the two homes.
Dining & Kitchen
The language
The first response to the program was an open pavilion, this we felt would give the residence a very unique feature against the mass behind. This pavilion from the entrance led to the living areas making one walk through a colonnaded pathway ensuring a very interesting play of light and shadow all along the way.
Bedroom
The need for privacy from the entrance to the living spaces and from the pavilion to the recreational areas were satisfied with free standing walls, becoming one of the main features of the design.
One cannot deny that the main most beautiful feature in this residence is the exposed beauty of the concrete and that of the white mass sitting on an imposing mass of concrete. We felt the need to continue this feature from the columns to the ceiling to the free standing walls to the first floor slab and beams and it has expressed itself splendidly.
Side Elevation
The planning
The main entry into the site leads onto on the covered parking of the residence under a large span of concrete both imposing and light at the same time. From here one is taken though the colonnaded pavilion leading to the living areas. The colonnade is imposing because of the sheer number of concrete columns and the same time very transparent because of the slenderness. Every line of shuttering on the column coincides with the flooring lines and coincides with the shuttering of the exposed concrete on the roof. This was intentional!
From the bar
The living area is encased in a glass case. The beauty of the elements around is reflected on this large expanse of glass. The larger exposed concrete columns in the living area give the space a sense of hierarchy from the colonnade again every vertical line matching every horizontal line.
Bar
Area adjacent to the colonnade is the pool and barbeque deck which is separated with a dry landscaped area adorned with cacti, sand, dates trees and tall green and burgundy grass. In the centre of this is a free standing concrete wall with punctures giving you glimpses of the deck and the blue waters of the pool. The beauty of the free standing wall is brought out by the very precisely done vertical shuttering lines that coincide perfectly with each horizontal line both in the punctures and all around. Each of these shuttering lines seat concealed lighting within the punctures.
From the dining
The wooden pool deck ends at an infinity edged pool and has a bar under a concrete slab where the deck is continuous with the cladding on the bar. The colourful splash of furniture on the deck adds much character to this space.
Corridor
Beyond the living room, and before the office/den area, a sculptural staircase takes you to the upper floor. The bent chequered plate staircase, with every pattern perfectly following each other on the treads and risers is detached from the walls on both sides so that light can play its role in enhancing its plasticity.
The upper floor has the large open planned bedroom with just a walk in wardrobe space separating the bathroom and the bedroom. The tub located next to the window looks down onto the pool deck below and is a prominent feature in the bedroom.
The open dining and kitchen area on the upper floor leads in the old house on the other side and opens into a large terrace looking again onto the pool area
Upper deck
Pavillion
Sitout
The roof of the colonnade leads onto an open upper deck. The white mosaic on the roof of the colonnade adds a very interesting contrast against the concrete and the wood on the deck. The open wooden deck on the parking roof again looks onto the whole mass of the building becoming the perfect panoramic view! A step away from home to contemplate…
Simple and elaborate till the smaller details is the entire composition of the Coimbatore residence.
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