Ascending House by Rushi Shah Architects + Tattva

The Ascending house is located at Ahmedabad, completed in December, 2022. The massing of the house is designed with step formation to cater higher side requirements along with open spaces on each floor. The bulk was broken into segments and were designed with a concept of Jenga blocks and was fragmented as per ascending floor plates. The design caters a cozy scale terraces to rooms, which emphasize the extruded cuboids. 

In the brief, we were told that clients believe in puja area to a great extent. As the design outcome, the circular concrete mass was designed with a fixed glass slit on top. This space was formed as the dynamic element for the daytime with height of 16ft. The sunlight penetration through the slit cast moon shaped shadow pattern on exposed rcc wall. This shadow moves in the mass as the sun angle changes. This drama justifies the circular mass. The house has multiple floor heights, ranging from 11 feet to 8 feet for living room and passages. And, a double height space for the dining area, which opens up in a Jaisalmer stone cladded courtyard. The white gravel courtyard acts as a breakfast or evening coffee space.  

The covered veranda is a conclave space of the house, designed on the same level as landscape. The landscape area intervenes under the wooden bottom canopy and creates a homogeneous space. This space has 11 feet height which expands the cone of vision to observe the plantation. The veranda sprawls in the landscape with a backdrop of exposed rcc wall and a lotus pond. The boulders, water and plantations add up the nuances in the space. The house perceives multiple visual affairs from inside and outside both. Level differences, massing and exposed rcc are the thriving elements of the house.