Our clients, Mr. Sofi Zahoor and Mrs. Ritu Tondon, aspired to have a naturally lit house in a linear plot that celebrates nothingness, thus bringing in a meditativeness in the house. This house for a couple and a son was to be designed in a 300-square-yard house. The owners come from an urban background and aspired to have a modern with a touch of tradition house. Mr. Sofi Zahoor’s roots go back to Kashmir; hence, a hint of the roots was also to be reflected. The design style was a pure minimalist style, where a lot of emphasis was given to the use of natural light and fluidity of spaces within a linear plot.
The Linear Plot of this House Inspired A Design That Emphasizes Natural Light | Forum Advaita
Primarily the shape of the plot, which was a very linear size, inspires us to create a seamlessness of the spaces. This motivates us to have a central open dry court to bring natural light and push the habitable spaces on the edges, which are the front and rear sides. Thus was discovered a 4-bay plan where the central two bays were open for the common areas.
Furthermore, it decides the position of the staircase for this duplex house, which we thought should not disturb the central open two bays for spatial connections. Thus the staircase is a linear flight, one above the other.
Moreover, extending the idea of playing with natural light, considering the movement of the sun. We started to position the main skylight above the dry court in such a way that we receive indirect light into the house. Then, introduced two more skylights, one at the foyer and the other above the staircase flight.
They placed two bedrooms on each floor to satisfy the 4-bedroom requirement. Both the bedrooms are towards the outer and rear edges of the plot. However, since the plot was a long canvas, we achieved a square form of central open space, which we further decided to split into two bays.
This allows us to create framed openings in between spaces and create relationships amongst them. A central dry court to bring natural light became the heart of the house, allowing connections from the bedrooms, library, formal living, and dining area with the dry court.
The bigger challenge was to create a sense of opulence in a relatively narrower plot. Hence we decided to position the entrance onto the vertex and allow a diagonal movement across the spaces. Pushing back the kitchen into the rear setback and creating an open breakfast counter near the dining area allows the walls to be pushed back, resulting in more spacious interiors. The library on the first floor overlooks the dry court while one sits to read. It allows cross-dialogue, like in traditional Indian settings.
They use a framed structural system and conventional materials like brick and concrete for the superstructure. For the finishes, we intended to use very understated materials like grey vitrified tiles and Dholpur stone cladding. Handmade tile for toilets and pop punning on the walls.
We chose two tones of gray for the common areas to leverage the natural light, avoiding an overload of color. For the bedrooms, we used pastel shades as accent colors.
A dry court with glass skylight is positioned towards the sun movement. Thus, bringing in indirect light which is glare free and transforms the space into a silver light from within. This court has all the habitable spaces, like the dining room, bedroom, and formal living, abutting around it.
The design integrates the formal living area into the circulation space, rather than isolating it on one side. A framed opening between the living and small families sustains the transparency in the house. The dry court covered with glass skylight is an extension to the formal living area in order to create an informality in the space that can be enjoyed from neighboring spaces like the dining and bedroom area.
The arrival into the house is a sunlit space that makes your eye move around within a small linear space of 7’x9′. A 10-foot-high wooden door opens up the space flooded with natural light from the skylight above. The light familiarizes you with the actual dimensions of the space.
One slowly transcends from the vertex of the plot into the formal living seamlessly directed by a curved wall. The arrival leaves you with a choice of either picking a straight flight towards the first floor or else following the curved wall to arrive into the formal living room that becomes part of the circulation, offering a different dimension of space.
The staircase flight from the first floor to the second floor has a glass skylight, which gives filtered light until the ground-floor staircase flight. The flight from the first floor to the second floor is a metal staircase with teak wood steps, again lit by a skylight above that creates a filtered pattern of light along the wall through the steps.
The 3 skylights inside the house create a composition of light and shadows throughout the day, offering changing moods throughout the day. The bay window on the first floor tapers into the dry court to make one feel suspended in the court area. It also adds a new dimension to the space.
The entire spatial arrangement is such that one discovers multiple frames within spaces, thus the name “The Framed House.“. These frames separate the staircase from the family area on the first floor, formal living and lounge on the ground floor. They allow a notional enclosure and distant viewing at the same time.
The house with a linear plot was composed as a composition of cubes, creating a choreography of 3 elements. To ensure the individual identity of all the 3 cubes, we ensured that they were all disconnected from each other, eventually allowing us to create window openings to bring natural light inside. The black leather stone cladding onto the recessed planes helped enhance the identity of the cubes, thus amplifying the dialogue amongst them.
Fact File
Designed by: Forum Advaita
Project Type: Residential Architecture Design
Project Name: The Framed House
Location: CP 87 _ Sector-109, Mohali, Chandigarh, Punjab
Year Built: December 2020 – 2022
Duration of the project: 2 Years
Project Size: 2700 Sq.ft
Project Cost: 1.2 Crore
Principal Architect: Aman Sohal
Team Design Credits: Niharika, Mashaara & Arshjot
Photograph Courtesy: Purnesh Dev Nikhanj
Products / Materials / Vendors: Finishes – BLACK LEATHER STONE, TEXTURED PAINT, VITRIFIED TILES, WOODEN FLOORING / Wallcovering / Cladding – BLACK LEATHER STONE, TEXTURED PAINT / Lighting – PHILLIPS / Doors and Partitions – TEAK WOOD / Sanitaryware – GROHE / Facade Systems – FENISTA Windows – FENISTA / Flooring – NEXION / Paint – DULUX ICI / Hardware – KICH
Firm’s Website Link: Forum Advaita
Firm’s Instagram Link: Forum Advaita
For Similar Project >>> A Collaboration Between Traditional Elements And Contemporary Look
Editors’ Note – This colonial house in Delhi carries an ambience of grandeur, infused with the elegance of Victorian-style colonialism. Expansive living, dining, and kitchen areas open into light-filled spaces framed by large glazing that connect seamlessly to the surrounding landscape. Inside, tropical interiors with bold geometry add a contemporary layer of comfort. The residence […]
“Hilltop House” is envisioned as a contemporary yet context-sensitive residential project that harmonizes architecture and interior design to create a sanctuary perched on a scenic elevation. The design will respond directly to the topography, climate, and panoramic views, while delivering a highly functional, comfortable, and aesthetically refined living environment. This Hilltop House in Indore Is […]
In the layered urban grain of Manjeri, the Timeless House reimagines a 1970s sloping roof residence through careful transformation. It’s a home that doesn’t shout for attention, but quietly repositions itself within its time and place, a sensitive reinterpretation of memory, material, and movement. Originally built in 1972, the house was structurally sound, featuring load-bearing […]
Editor’s Note: There’s something truly special about homes crafted with thought and care—where every corner and detail speaks to its users, becoming part of their memories. For siblings Akhila and Kaushik, Sona Reddy Studio brought this vision to life in One Summer House, a rustic farmhouse tucked within the vibrant city of Hyderabad. Designed with […]
This southwest-facing bungalow, with golden accents in its interiors, is a refined expression of contextual and climate-responsive modern architecture. The home embraces its orientation with an intelligent façade design that balances aesthetic appeal and environmental performance. With the sun’s harshest rays hitting the structure in the latter half of the day, the architects incorporated a […]
This North Facing villa opens towards the East to always soak in the cool and diffused light. Its orientation is mindful of the adjoining clubhouse and its expansive garden. The planning allows the villa’s private lawn to visually merge with it, creating a larger and cohesive space. With a connection to the open space at […]
An Urban Sanctuary Woven with Craft, Warmth, and Light Explicitly tucked into a quiet residential pocket, this home with a jaali facade is a thoughtfully layered expression of calm, character, and craftsmanship. Every surface and corner is rooted in intention — where light, material, and memory meet. The Jaali Design in this Layered Home Exudes […]
Set in the serene landscape of Nashik, the Dabholkar Residence by GDA is a home, embracing stone clad walls. Here, tradition and contemporary design exist in harmony. Designed to reflect the family’s deep connection to tradition and art while embracing the style of contemporary living, it is a space where architectural details, heritage furniture, artwork […]
The Indian farmhouse accommodation goes on to capitalize on a mature evolutionary synthesis of ancestral aesthetics and contemporary features. With this, the outside and the inside of farmhouses became places of comfort with nature. In this blog, we delve into 15 incredible farmhouse designs that entail a harmonious blending. While they exhibit different spaces in […]
Aangan is a modern residence that seamlessly integrates with the lush environment of Kerala, showcasing a tropical home design. Designed to embrace the region’s warm climate, the house features a striking sloped terracotta roof at varying levels, enhancing both its aesthetic appeal and functional efficiency. The structure is enveloped in a vibrant tropical landscape, adorned […]