There are houses built on land, and then there are houses built on memory. The Oculus House, belongs firmly to the latter. The 5,300 sq. ft. residence sits on a corner plot held by the family for over five decades. Designed as two homes for two branches of the extended family, it appears as one unified volume from the street. Within, each dwelling maintains its own sense of privacy and intimacy.
Oculus House Brings Two Homes Together as One | Studio Reform
Editor’s Note: Some homes carry more than the people who live in them; they carry the memories, relationships, and stories that came before. The Oculus House grows from this sense of belonging, transforming a family-owned plot into a shared home for two branches of the family. At its centre, the courtyard becomes more than a pause between rooms, bringing the two homes together through light, nature, and everyday moments, while still allowing each family its own privacy. Perhaps that is what makes the house feel so rooted, it does not simply preserve the memory of the past, but creates a gentle space for the family’s next chapter. ~Yashika Bajaniya
The brief was simple at its core: easy maintenance and a shared space for both families to come together. From this single, human requirement, the entire spatial logic of the house was born. A central open courtyard anchors both dwellings and becomes the heart of the design. It connects the two homes while also creating a sense of separation. The ground floor follows a mirrored layout around the courtyard. The upper levels then diverge to meet the distinct needs of each family.
The courtyard is crowned by a glazed circular aperture in the roof — the oculus — which lends the house its name and its soul. This deliberate puncture in the built mass choreographs light through the day, casting shifting sciographic shadows across the courtyard floor and onto a Frangipani tree planted in the central pit below. It is an architectural gesture of deceptive simplicity: a single formal move that governs natural light and the emotional life of the space.
Externally, the house makes a quietly assertive statement.Warm, earthy brick clads the facade, paired with concrete-finished weather shades. Together, they ground the contemporary volume in its surrounding material context. Long, horizontal overhangs at both levels temper the mass, creating shaded thresholds and offering the building its characteristic rhythm. Positioned at a corner junction, the house engages its surroundings without performing for them.
Inside, the language shifts. Brick gives way to a palette of walnut wood tones, beige walls, and warm flooring — restrained and considered, allowing the architecture itself to speak. Red accents and decorative elements carry a subtle thread back to the brick exterior, maintaining continuity without redundancy. Brass inserts punctuate the woodwork with a quiet opulence that reflects the clients’ refined sensibility. The interior is intentionally calm, designed to illuminate the transitions — the foyer opening to the puja space, the living room bleeding into the courtyard, the dining connecting visually to the kitchen.
Each level is oriented with purpose. The living and entertainment rooms receive the gentle animation of morning light; the master bedroom, with its generous window seat, is saved for the warmth of the setting sun. A double-height staircase volume introduces a sense of verticality and drama, with its deck thoughtfully designed as a usable, human shelf — a place for things, and more importantly, for people.
The Oculus House is, in the end, a reminder that the most meaningful spaces are not those that impress but those that bring people back. The courtyard makes this possible — quietly, reliably, by design. On a plot which the family has called their own for generations, the architects have ensured that the next chapter feels as familiar as the one before it.
Fact File
Designed by: Studio Reform
Project Type: Residential Architecture Design
Project Name: The Oculus house
Location: Vadodara, Gujarat
Year Built: March 2026
Plot Area: 5300 Sq.ft.
Built-up Area: 6500 Sq.ft.
Principal Architects: Ar. Supriya Karkare & Ar. Harshang Kale
Photograph Courtesy: Umang Shah Photography
Client’s Name: Mr. Viral Patel & Mr. Pankaj Patel
Structure Consultant: Dhrumesh Shah
Site Engineer: Krunal Rana, Atul Patel, Manoj Patel
Styling: Art Dada (Shivani Awasthi Bodas)
Manufacturers: Pocho Living, Kohler, Hi Tech Aluminium, Ledlum & Astara lights, Indo line kitchen, Shreenath bricks, Objects & more, Reform objects, Aditya Lamps, Dimore tiles
Firm’s Website Link: Studio Reform
Firm’s Instagram Link: Studio Reform
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