Vaswani Residence by Studio Motley

The site, which is about 6300 sq. ft., is located within a gated community where most of the other houses are designed and built by the developer and are largely repetitive. The intent here was to create a subtle yet strong presence within this context. 

When the clients approached us, all they had in mind was for us to make a few minor changes to the standard layout while designing the interiors so that we could incorporate these changes while the villa is being built without need for substantial civil work changes later. But over the several discussions we had, it became clear that substantial changes will be required and slowly, incrementally, the entire design was transformed. The clients wanted two large living rooms with the formal one to be designed in a way that it has its privacy while still being connected to the rest of the house. This resulted in a glass enclosed space which opens out to the dining deck on one side and the rear garden towards the other. We were also very keen that the entire dimensions of the large site be enjoyed from within and this meant an open plan but with spaces and functions being demarcated with subtle flooring patterns and changes in the ceiling heights. The dining space enjoys the central portion of the house and is double height, connecting the two floors of the house. The villa has 3 bedrooms on the first floor (with balconies or window seaters ) and one on the ground floor, which opens out to a rear garden facing patio. Another particular requirement from the clients was the large home office with conferencing facilities.

Our initial premise for the design was a simple one- that a desirable space is one where the outdoors can be experienced and enjoyed from within. So we carved out garden areas and connected them, both visually and physically, to the interiors of the house. A carefully curated material palette of reclaimed teak wood, locally quarried black stone (in leather and polished finish), glass and concrete results in a warm and earthy ambience that is pleasing to the eye.

The large glazed surfaces are well shaded with protective overhangs and face predominantly north so that heat gain is reduced within the house and the loading on the air conditioning is also minimized. The dominant feature of the facade is a series of vertical louvers made of laminated bamboo. This delicate screen shields the glazing of the large home office while creating an awareness of the sun's movement from within.