The design for this eleventh storey apartment in western Ahmedabad explores concepts which creatively reimagine the making of an urban home.

Castle and Sun : Creatively Reimagining The Making Of An Urban Home | Studio 4000

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In plan, the apartment is reorganized by removing partitions that divide the dining space and a bedroom to create an extended, interconnected living area. Within this, furniture, platforms, shelving, etc. along with the family’s collection of wooden handicrafts- which included an antique wooden column- are used to make for a loose-fit arrangement of activity zones which flow into each other. Devices like sliding panels or openings in partition walls between the kitchen and the living and so on compliment the new plan organization. Where possible, objects of art are carefully integrated into these situations. 

An additional ground which consists of a layer of cast-in-situ terrazzo, is superimposed upon the apartment’s floor which folds up into seats, low platforms and built-in furniture. This superimposed mass thickens the floor plane into a substantial base, creates possibilities for conceptually liberating the apartment from the repetitional logic of the block and anchor familial life into itself with dignity. 

Most built-in furniture is crafted with terrazzo and teakwood panels, the remaining, standalone items are made with a range of different materials. For tables, CRC metal sections are finished in PVD coating with natural stone placed on top. Single sofa and dining chairs are made with salvaged teakwood. Use of polychromy in the bedrooms offers a contrast to the largely white painted living areas and adds another dimension to the variety and layering of experiences. 

FACT FILE

Designed by : Studio 4000

Project Type : Residential, Interior Design

Project Name : Castle and Sun

Location : Ahmedabad

Year Built : 2021

Duration of project : 10 months

Project Size : 1400 sq.ft

Principal Architect : Smit Vyas

Team Design Credits : Khushboo Vyas, Ishita Agrawal

Photography Courtesy : Rahul Zota Photography

Products and Materials : Finishes : PVD Coating for Metal Sections, Rubio Monocoat Wood Polish | Construction Materials : Teak wood, Terrazzo, Glass, Brick Masonry | Lighting: Philips | Doors and Partitions : Salvaged Teak wood | Sanitaryware : Kohler | Windows : Enox Sliding Partitions | Furniture : All Furniture Made on Site with Teak wood, Terrazzo, Stone, Brass. Dining Chairs by A Cube Inc. | Flooring : Cast-in-Situ Terrazzo, Tiles | Kitchen : Tiara | Paint : Asian Paints | Artefacts : @Home, Pepperfry, Studio Scarlet, Dynamic Living | Hardware : EPPW, Ahmedabad

Consultants for the Project :  MEP & HVAC Consultants – Mohammed Bhai Consultants, Yash Airconditioning | Contractors –  Ganpatbhai Panchal

Basic Insights of your firm and the project :

Q. Please share with us challenges faced by you during the process of design ideation till execution of the project. We are sure there might be many and you would have overcome it successfully. 

A. Clients wanted their large collection of antiques and wooden handicrafts collection integrated into the house. Our foremost challenge involved reshaping the 13^th floor residential unit into something more than a typical apartment. We chose to integrate parts of their collection, such as a teakwood column from the traditional Gujrati house and brackets directly into the walls and the main spaces of the apartment- allowing it to evolve simultaneously as something modern as well as traditional. Low, built-in seats or baithaks were proposed instead of sofas, etc. which were made through raised masonry platforms finished with cast-in-situ terrazzo. Another challenge was using an in-situ cementitious floor finish- which involved grinding and polishing- in conjunction with tiles. Our third and main challenge was remodeling one of the bedrooms into an extended living area. The flow of terrazzo and sliding door panels -which are imagined as artistic devices- accentuate the new spatial continuity. The entrance verandah, sitting, tv lounge, dining, etc. are thus developed into a zone of interconnected activities forming the core of familial life.  

Q. Inspiration for this project :

A. We were inspired by projects such as Sir John Soane’s house in London as well as Geoffrey Bawa’s house in Colombo. In both, we enjoy how the architectural elements, furniture, artifacts, finishes, etc. are tightly packed into a rich, sensorial landscape. As houses, they become wonderful repositories of different lifestyles, experiences and objects, rendering the space of the home as a multiplicity that cannot be reduced to one idea or expression.

Material Palette of the project :

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