A modest 270 sq.m plot fits into its well-manicured neighborhood like the last piece of a jigsaw. Positioned at a convergence, this irregular plot completes the larger whole, and in doing so becomes a very skewed, 5 sided triangle-polygon.
A Seven-Storey Single-Family Home on an Irregular Delhi Plot | Architects Collaborative
Like its shape, the design brief was also borne of eccentricities. A house for a single family, resulting in a seven-story built mass. A two-level basement for sheer curiosity, a stilt floor for parking, and four subsequent floors above, with two individual floors and a duplex at the top. The underlying intent, as is with the Delhi urban fabric lately, was space optimization.
The primary task, therefore, was the plot shape itself. The designers initially tried to rationalise the hybrid shape through several design drafts. They explored ways to regularise the internal spaces and reduce the impact of the irregular geometry. Eventually, they chose to embrace the shape and let its angles and corners flow organically through the design.
The longest face of the plot, the skewed 26m southern wall, was our major source of natural light, but also necessitated privacy from the immediate neighbors. The heat gain from this south sun also needed to be addressed. The layout thus unfolds as 3 separate segments, running from east to west, bound together by two courts between them.
These courts are deep punctures from the southern face. These two deep wells on the southern face hang as halves. The first half of both is a zen court and a water court, respectively, that are open to the sky. The other halves are an entrance foyer and an intermediary buffer court that are covered, inward spills of the open-to-sky courts. Internally, both these courts act as a double-height interactive, with the living room perched as an island between them.
The open kitchen and dining, tied together by a single island monolith, sit to the west and interact with the living room through the court, resulting in a fairly open floor layout. The basement is a two-level duplex on its own, with the dual courts sinking in as deep light-wells for natural light and ventilation. A peripheral mezzanine on three sides holds space for storage and a guest bed, while the lower level, with its double heights, serves primarily for lounging.
The periphery of the house, because of its immediate neighbors on all sides, offers only glimpses inward for privacy, through 6″ slits, inducing a drama of light and shade along the way. The main sources of light, the dual courts, complete the geometry of the house through a very site-specific shading system. Devised as dense, solid wood shutters on pivots, the system is operated from the inside to allow light at the discretion of its inhabitants.
Fact File
Designed by: Architects Collaborative
Project Type: Residential Architecture Design
Project Name: The House of Thirds
Location: New Delhi
Year Built: 2025
Project Size: 3608.924 Sq.ft
Principal Architects: Abhishek Saxena & Madhav Maini
Design Team: Ahana Chakrabarty, Bhupesh Arora
Photograph Courtesy: Vibhor Yadav
Manufacturers: Elite Studio, Kaara Decor, Kohler, Mitsubishi, Schindler
Source: Archdaily
Firm’s Instagram Link: Architects Collaborative
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