Perched at a height of around 110 ft off the ground, this 5000 sq ft home is designed as an interpretation and embodiment of a memory from nameless places stumbled upon during the clients travels across the Italian country side as a boy. Influenced by his explicit narration of the architectural details bookmarked in his memory along with the need to form strong connections with the context —the backwaters , the landscape and greenery beyond, this home is an exemplification of how Dreamscapes can be turned into a design narrative: the ‘story’ of the project. Surrounded by unending views overlooking the backwaters and the fishing village of Kumbalangi beyond this home aspires to leave a positive memory in people’s minds —a feeling of calm comfort, endurance, being welcome and maybe an interest to explore the space and understand it more fully.
The apartment being a second home to the family whose base is in Chennai, India, this home serves as a holiday house for hosting and relaxing at times and a quick stop—over work stay during other times.
Throughout the design phase, the team was heavily influenced by the unending views surrounding the site, this is reflected through the complex material and colour palette manifested. Colours and textures that invites the environment into the interiors which is otherwise just a view or a backdrop, making the space feel like a continuation of the landscape surrounding and beyond to such an extent that it stops existing as two, making the space feel like it’s a part of a much bigger story.
In order to make these purposes palpable, a soothing colour palette swatched from the landscape takes over the walls, ceilings and floors which were developed using swatches from the surrounding landscape. This combination of tones and materials creates a natural and pleasant environment; Materiality assumes a leading role to help meet these premises.
All walls are coated with natural mortar using an aerated lime base, changing colour depending on the light, and bringing the ambient temperature lower than what is outside. In Some areas the floors and walls are treated the same to blur the changing planes making the space look larger and continuous rather than constrained by walls, and in some areas the walls are cladded with metal to reflect off cues of the surrounding landscape, throwing back and changing tone as the day progresses. Floors are set up in Travertine marble throughout for a seamless and coherent appeal and in areas such as bathrooms, they are built in Terrazzo to facilitate a seamless transition, yet demarcating the change of function. Wooden composite panels are used on the ceiling to neatly hide way the trap doors and matched with the staining done for the wooden accent furniture pieces custom designed to make sure the design language is coherent and not lost. Lighting design was done making sure it caters to the changing functions of the day, for mood setting and entertainment purposes. These combinations of materiality, light and colour alter as the user walks from one end to another, shaping different experiences while transitioning through the wall-layering.
The home is defined by a long, corridor that functions as the vertebral axis to transition through the different zones of the house. With multiple rooms opening on either sides, this space is conceptually cut in half to distinguish two main areas: day and night. The first one turns to the backwaters, with unending views to the horizon where the sun keeps it alive from dawn to dark. In this half, lies the deck area with the outdoor living, flowing into the indoor living area with 3 different types of seating options along with a bar area neatly hidden away under layers of cold rolled sheet cladding reflecting the tones of the sky, to its left is the sleeping quarters, two bedrooms with attached bathroom and a walk-in wardrobe, both with balconies overlooking the water views.
Beyond that is the dining room, sharing a wall with the kitchen, cold rolled sheet is cladded onto the wall between to further the connections and reciprocate the dynamicity offered by the views onto the other end of the passage, absorbing it into whichever surface possible and enhancing it. The kitchen zone comprises of a multipurpose room, a work area, butlers quarters and a restroom. When transitioning to the night area, the spine hits its thinnest spot right in the centre, this is the point of entry of the house connected to the foyer area, welcomed by a large wooden antique mask where one makes up their mind on whether to travel to the more communal, day zone for entertainment or to retract to the more secluded areas for solitude and sleep. The master bedroom with a large walk-in wardrobe, an attached bathroom and a statement powder room make up the second half of the space connected by the central spine. With the help of light, materiality and colour palette, one can observe the mood alterations throughout the home. In the first half, areas such as the living and dinning room come across as active for their brightness, and from this point on as one transitions through the passage, spaces change in colour and become more compelling with the help of gallery style lighting —picking spots to highlight artworks and antique pieces, and the stark play of sharp shadows against the plastered walls formed by the introduction of slits, opening up of the wall to bring in natural light.
Each area comprises of carefully detailed parts and elements to adapt to the users’ needs, natures, and lives. May it be the study table unit integrated into the headboard in the master sleeping quarters or the vanity integrated into the long counter in the bathroom in one of the other bedrooms to act as a vanity station on the go. Visually Full height flush doors to hide the height restrictions imposed by the structural elements. Terrazzo slabs folding over the entire volume of the otherwise small bathroom area making it look large and spacious, complemented by deluxe brass and Matt black bathroom fittings, in situ cement counters and sinks to compensate for the space constraints. Worked with a team of skilled metal fabricators for deciphering how the cooled rolled sheets can be used for panelling, and how it can be treated to completely cut out rusting, considering the proximity to water while leaving room for expansion and counter the condensation of water. Customised mirrors with integrated lights , with storage and soap holders depending on the function in every bathroom, to different bathroom accessories such as soap trays, towel rods to grab bards and hooks. Strategically positioned full length mirrors to reflect the view at the end of the corridor and Organic shaped mirrors to reflect water views. Organic shaped rugs and patterned soft furnishings with colours picked from the surrounding environment. Cement mouldings with rounded edges on walls to subtly break monotony and bring in shadow play.
Each design element introduced to the project has a part to play and it has been detailed and worked on enormously to an extent to which their functions are now inherently connected. The result is a diaphanous space for the users to occupy and advance everyday life in.
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