ALEEYA. design studio has completed The Architect’s Home. Located in an up-scale neighborhood of Karachi, The Architect’s Home is situated on a south-west facing 2,000 square yard lot measuring 116’-6” wide by 149’-9” deep. As a city, Karachi is infamous for it’s affluent housing societies juxtaposed with underprivileged village-like communities. The defense housing authority, where The Architect’s Home has been built consists of several neighborhoods that follow strict, antiquated by-laws created by officials several decades ago, most importantly, a 30-foot set back from the front and 10 feet from all three sides of the boundary wall, which automatically dictate the design constraints. The Architect’s Home echoes a play of light and shadows with strong structural elements and soft materials.

The Architect’s Home Echoes A Play Of Light And Shadows With Strong Structural Elements And Soft Materials | ALEEYA. design studio

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“With a strong affinity for minimalism,’ The Architect’s Home’ is approached with a deep affinity for crisp sciographies and intimate color dialect. The rawness of whites, wooden finishes, and exposed concrete is paired with beige shades, which spotlight each space’s individual character.” – Nishal Sevak(Co-Editor)

In a world where change is the only constant, ALEEYA. design studio is a firm driven by evolution – evolution in spaces, in materials, in objects, and in light.

The studio wants not to follow any norm, but carve its journey through thoughts, emotions, and diverse experiences.

Using design to evoke the senses, A. creates atmospheres, continuously experimenting with solid and void – a design ethos that is continuously echoed in The Architect’s Home, occupied by her and her family.

When the architect is both the client and the designer, the manifestation is an authentic, untainted vision; it is exactly what is felt in that moment of design, which gives life to something rather organic. It allows for an untethered experimentation that other creative endeavors may not allow.

Providing two entrances to the home, one experiences distinct atmospheres – the calm, silent pool patio giving way through a large glass pivot door; the other a 16’-0” wide by 16’-0” deep double height entrance foyer under a 16’-0” wide by 28’-0” long skylight behind a heavy 9-foot mahogany wood double door, which immediately floods the center of the house with ever-transforming light from sunrise to sunset.

The careful placement of all window openings invites the warm Karachi sun to strike through the house directly hitting structural elements and the soft materials within.

In a city like Karachi, cultural norms and traditional values somewhat dictate the design of homes, but in this case, the architect was keen to introduce a new aesthetic to her hometown.

Unlike the design of other houses on the street, the facade consists of slanting protruding masses cladded with French crema limestone with 7’-0” wide by 8’-0” high windows embedded in between, creating a heavy exterior structure.

This provides a level of privacy from the street and aptly conceals a 95-foot-long driveway inside the boundary wall and main gate. The idea was to screen a large, spacious and light-filled space of living behind an all-imposing concrete structure echoing a Swiss facade.

It is a common misconception that complex edges and unique curves give structures life. Nature and light can unravel feelings and create atmospheres that awaken our senses. Through the simplest form, the most beautiful experience can emerge.

The structure of this house was designed with this thought in mind, with the intentionally large circulation spaces that create a meaningful flow throughout the house, which initiates movement within. The Architect’s Home reveals the soul of the Architect, creating a space that is in constant evolution as the seasons change. 

Designed by : ALEEYA. design studio

Project Type : Residential Architecture Design

Project Name : The Architect’s Home

Location : Karachi, Pakistan

Year Built : 2022

Duration of the project : 2 years

Project Size : 22,500 Sq.ft

Principal Architect : Ar. Aleeya Khan

Project Managers : Anum Rashid Khan

Quantity Surveyors : Azeem Khalid , Umair Tufail

Photograph Courtesy : Matt Harrington & ALEEYA. design studio

Products / Materials / Vendors : Finishes – Bespoke Textured Paint / Wallcovering / Cladding – Crema Limestone / Construction Materials – – Amreli Steels, Falcon Cement / Lighting – Flos, Linea / Sanitaryware – Grohe / Facade Systems – Tostem / Windows -Tostem / Furniture – B & B Italia, Flexform, Molteni & C, Paola Lenti / Flooring – Pietra Futura; Bespoke Pillow Finch Portland Limestone / Kitchen – Dada S.p.A, SCIC / Paint – Dulux Paints, Nepon Paint / Hardware – Hettich.

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