Related Tags

Architecture

2017

Photographer : PHX India

Consultants:

Architecture & design firm: Studio Lagom

Principal architect: Hardik Shah

Design team: Sweta Gajiwala Doriwala & KrutiSheta-Patel (Interior Styling)

Landscape architects: Umesh & Prachi Wakaley (Roots Designs)

Artists: Kruti Sheta-Patel, Satyadip Vadnere & Hemant Saho(Artitude) and Grishma Verma

Home Theater & Acoustics: Jignesh Khatiwala(Absolute Sound) & Rolins Roy

Structure: Jayesh Dalal

Contractor : Parsottam Gajjar & Kalpesh Patel

Plumbing: Burhanali Shaikh(Bhai bhai Contractor)

Electrical: Satish Patel

Carpenter: Surjit Suthar

Flooring: Jyoti Marble Art

Color: Bhupendra Thakur (Surat Painter)

Simple aesthetics, a minimal material palette, and connections to nature are the main drivers of the design of the Skewed House, the architect’s debut through his firm Studio Lagom. The standalone 11,000-square-foot villa seeks to create an oasis of serenity in Surat’s typical urban milieu through a program that departs from the typical planning of this typology.

The architect reversed the ‘structure on the streetside and garden to the rear scheme, by setting the bungalow back, beyond an elevated garden. Rather than a forbidding, fortress-like compound wall, an interesting elevation involving Valsadi teak battens, softened by cascades of creepers, intrigues the passers-by. Beyond this, is a ramp -- which takes you directly to the garden -- sandwiched between this slatted outer boundary wall and the retaining wall of the home with an intermediary concrete wall. The idea was to create a journey of sorts, a constricted perambulatory approach that finally ‘releases’ the visitor into the garden. The other access point, which is the ‘normal’ main door, also uses the same strategy of constriction and liberation, via a small entrance lobby that shields the main living space from direct view. The spatial program of the villa and the zoning of the plot were also dictated by the sudden floods that the city sometimes experiences. The ground level is devoted to allied spaces connected to relaxation and unwinding. Atop this lies the sprawl of the living-dining, kitchen, a bedroom, and the garden in the front, followed by more bedrooms, up another level.

Surat,Gujarat,India

Architects	:	Studio Lagom
Area	:	14,000 sq. ft.
Year	:	2017
Website	:	studiolagom.in

The Skewed House does away with excess in form and materiality. Elevationally speaking, the façade projects and recedes strategically, with important areas such as the master bedroom being emphasized through cantilevering and material play. Though concrete was the material of choice, white plaster, stone, and wood have been used to temper its formidable, institutional demeanor. The architect’s deep interest in photography helped him visualize this project as a series of interconnected vistas, and was also responsible for the ‘skewedness’ of Skewed House. Manifested subtly as elements shifted slightly off the straight line, this was an exercise in creating vistas and perspectives, and adding more life to a three-dimensional object.

The client’s request for connections from top to bottom, skylights, distinct identity for the worship area, nature, and a play of light and shadow inform the spatial layout. The split-level living-dining area is extensive, with the living part being sunken and the dining elevated. Close to the entrance is the double-height pooja tower, heralded by a water spout and set within a waterbody. Opposite the living area is a sunken courtyard with more seating. These pockets of seating, with various configurations, allow people more freedom to use the space as per their choice. An enormous Kalamkari-inspired artwork in subtle grey graces the staircase wall and is one of the design highlights of this space.