The conceptual framework for M-Townhouse is deeply rooted in a singular ambition: to reimagine a landlocked urban plot as a sanctuary of light, air, and intimacy. Bounded on three sides by adjoining structures, the site demanded a design that would breathe from within an inward-looking architecture that elevates light as its principal material.

Deeply Rooted In Modern Luxury, This House Invites Nature And Light Inside | Architectural Direction

The New

This led to the creation of two soaring, triple-height voids that are deeply rooted in both poetic and pragmatic functions. One rises above the contemplative pooja room, drawing in soft, diffused light that gently animates the sacred space throughout the day. The second houses a helical, floating staircase – more than a means of circulation, it is a spatial crescendo that threads all levels together, choreographing light and movement with sculptural grace.

The Lungs

These vertical volumes act as spatial lungs – inviting daylight, facilitating ventilation, and fostering a sense of visual continuity across the home. In doing so, the architecture transcends its physical constraints, offering a living experience that is at once serene, connected, and architecturally expressive.

Entrance

The entrance to M-Townhouse is conceived as a restrained yet refined overture – an architectural pause that delicately introduces the experiential narrative unfolding within. Deeply rooted in clarity of geometry and subtle material interplay, the foyer is not merely transitional but ceremonial in its function. It gently buffers the shift from the external staircase to the interior, choreographing a moment of stillness before revealing the spatial crescendo of the triple-height volumes beyond.

Warm lighting, muted textures, and an intentional sparseness lend the space a meditative quality. This measured introduction offers a sense of anticipation and introspection, establishing a tone of composed elegance that threads through the rest of the home.

Dining Area

Situated between the kitchen and the sacred volume of the Pooja room, the Dining Area operates as the social fulcrum of the home – a place where nourishment, conversation, and ritual coalesce.

Defined not by enclosure but by spatial permeability, it is articulated through slender glass and aluminium partitions that demarcate while preserving visual continuity. The space is bathed in diffused daylight, subtly borrowed from the adjacent skylit volumes, creating a soft, ambient luminosity.

Kitchen

A traditional service hatch connecting the kitchen introduces a nostalgic, utilitarian charm, while material choices echo the broader palette of the home – warm, light, and seamless. The result is a dining environment that is deeply rooted in function, inviting lingering storytelling, and the celebration of the everyday.

Pooja Room & Triple-Height Skylight

Positioned at the emotional and spatial nucleus of the residence, the Pooja room is articulated as a triple-height sanctum – an architectural sanctification of stillness and light. Crowned by a skylight that modulates daylight across the day, the space is imbued with a contemplative, almost celestial aura. It is not merely a room, but a volumetric expression of reverence – quiet, grounded, and ethereal.

Located between the living and dining zones, it serves as both an axis and an anchor. It bridges the secular with the sacred. Transparent partitions ensure the sanctity of the space is preserved, while allowing luminosity to permeate its periphery. This central void becomes a vessel of light, silence, and spiritual pause, a space whose scale is used not for grandeur, but for grace.

Staircase & Triple-Height Atrium

The staircase at M-Townhouse emerges not as a structural necessity, but as an architectural spectacle. It is a suspended sculpture that threads the home vertically with grace and precision. Rising through its own triple-height void, the cantilevered spiral form achieves both visual lightness and spatial drama.

Featuring dual identities, it pairs a fluid wooden handrail with hidden lighting and a crisp CNC-cut steel balustrade.

Above, a custom spiral chandelier mirrors the stair’s form and ends at a skylight that floods the space with daylight.

Framed by bespoke concrete wall panels, this vertical volume becomes a study in material harmony, spatial continuity, and artisanal detail.

Master Bedroom

The Master Bedroom is a private haven, deeply rooted in restful luxury and introspection.

Functioning as a self-contained suite, it is composed of a generously sized sleeping area. A walk-in dressing space, and a finely detailed en suite bathroom – each flows seamlessly into the next.

A private terrace extension blurs the boundary between inside and out, reinforcing a sense of calm and openness. “Soft neutrals, tactile finishes, and refined textures deliberately subdue the palette, lending the room an atmosphere of quiet sophistication.”

Eschewing overt ornamentation, the space embraces a language of curated restraint. Here every detail, though subtle, speaks of intention and elegance.

Design Challenges

Designing M-Townhouse was as much an act of invention as it was a study in constraint. The most pressing challenge lay in the landlocked nature of the plot. It is surrounded on three sides by adjoining structures, with only a single facade exposed to the outside. This condition significantly limited access to natural light and cross-ventilation. It prompted a fundamental design question: how can one carve light and air into a sealed urban footprint?

Triple Height Voids

The answer emerged through a series of spatial innovations. The introduction of triple-height voids and strategically positioned skylights became a response to this challenge. It is the project’s defining architectural vocabulary. These vertical volumes reoriented the home inward. They invited daylight to cascade through its core while fostering a sense of expansiveness despite the compressed urban context.

A Balancing Layout

Another layer of complexity arose from the need to serve a multigenerational family. Balancing visual openness with zones of privacy – especially in vertically stacked spaces – required a nuanced orchestration of thresholds, transitions, and sightlines. The interplay between shared and private domains had to feel seamless, intuitive, and emotionally attuned.

On the execution front, the engineering of the cantilevered spiral staircase presented a formidable structural feat.

Suspended at its base and crown, and integrated with dual railing systems and concealed lighting, it demanded rigorous structural analysis and exacting coordination between architects, engineers, and craftsmen.

Detailing

Likewise, details such as the custom-formed concrete wall panels and the service hatch connecting the kitchen and dining areas underwent iterative prototyping and meticulous on-site refinement.

Given the project’s heavy reliance on the choreography of natural light, multiple 3D simulations and virtual walkthroughs were essential. These digital explorations allowed us to test material reflectivity, calibrate interior finishes, and refine volumetric strategies well before construction.

Ultimately, every constraint became a catalyst – transforming limitations into design opportunities and underscoring our core belief: that enduring architecture is not merely about aesthetics, but about adaptability, ingenuity, and collective resolve.

Fact File

Designed by: Architectural Direction

Project Type: Residential Architecture & Interior Design

Project Name: M-Townhouse

Location: New Delhi

Year Built: Dec 2024

Project Size: 11000 Sq.ft

Principal Architect: Ar. Ajay Gulati

Team Design Credits: Ar. Harivansh & Ar. Kanika Gulati

Photograph Courtesy: Prateek Studio

Structure engineers: Beniwal & associates

Wallcovering / Cladding – Century / Asian Paints / Lighting – Phillips / Doors and Partitions – Art’n’Glass Facade Systems – Art’n’Glass / Furniture – Customized / Flooring – White Italian- Michaelangelo / Paint – Asian Paints / Wallpaper – Asian Paints

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