A House Creating An Inside Outside World Through A Series Of Persuasive Courtyards | Forum-Advaita
The recently completed 500sqyrds house by ForumAdvaita is designed with the intent to establish a relationship with the elements of nature and create an experience of hide and Seek with the sun. The house is built for a small family of 4 people. The upper part is made accessible independently also by positioning a secluded external staircase which one only discovers as it is protected by planar walls which also define the outside vocabulary of the house. The layout has two courtyards with different interpretations.
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Internal courtyard
This is an intimate space where one largely feels within the cutout space as it becomes an extension to the living room. the verticality of this court space is an artistic expression of a waterfall to soften the materiality of the wall by creating imagery of a waterfall. This has been materialized by using Hammer finished black and white marble on the wall.
External courtyard
The second courtyard is more of an outside space but allows one to experience the seasons of the year. It allows light into the meditation space, prayer room, and kitchen spaces all around the courtyard. This space makes one desire to make a transition from inside to outside as a result on the wall of the courtyard is a brick-clad wall for it is locally available and adds warmth and an outdoor experience in the space.
Its interaction with the kitchen has been further made to become an extension from within the kitchen area. A service window from the kitchen helps create another level of connection with the outdoor seating arrangement.
Staircase
The staircase is positioned in such a manner that it amplifies the experience of spaces inside. The staircase is not a central sculpture element, but a discovery in a way that it leads one to the upper level by unfolding the spatial experience of the inner courtyard. The mid landing is transformed into a space that begins to interact with the balcony and the floor level of the courtyard
Internal Balcony
The balcony has been a part of the Indian style of living as it helps initiate a dialogue across. The bedroom at the upper level overlooks into the courtyard by creating a transition space in the form of a balcony that overlooks into the courtyard and opens the multiplicity of the spaces. This allows visual transparency and brings pluralism to the inside spaces. There is a timeline shift from the real to the past and this helps create mental space and a world of its own.
Materials
To allow the natural light to lit up the interior spaces, we have underplayed the flooring by having neutral greys across the common areas. The kitchen and toilet areas have been made to look very vibrant by using handmade tiles of varied hues. The southeast-facing bedrooms have wooden flooring to bring in warmth. The walls inside and outside have marble and brick tile cladding
Front elevation
The front elevation has been made to appear very subtle by creating a composition of planes and we chose to create a dialogue between two materials. The brick cladding and plaster finish. This allows simplicity of the exteriors while the house unfolds from inside like a friend.
The experience of this world within creates a very strong inside and the house has outsides enclosed within. All the space lookout and also into the interiors to enhance the visual transparency
FACT FILE:
Designed by: Forum-Advaita
Project Type: Residence
Project Name: World Within House 1071
Location: sector 69, Mohali, Chandigarh
Year built: 2020
Size: sq feet: 6000
Project Cost appx: 1.5 CR
Principal Architect: Aman Sohal
Design Team: Niharika, Masharaa, Arshjot, Sidhant
Structural Engineer: Mohit Sachdeva
Photograph courtesy: JeevanJyot
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