Set within the dense fabric of a bustling urban neighbourhood and constrained by a modest 4000 sq ft plot, Jali House reimagines the potential of urban residential architecture. Far from feeling confined, the home crafts a serene and poetic spatial experience. It proves that powerful architecture can emerge despite limitations. and culture. India’s abundance of sunlight, the availability of locally sourced materials, and a deep architectural heritage formed the basis of the design strategy. The jali (lattice screen), a traditional element reinterpreted here in a modern idiom. It becomes both symbol and solution; a tool to filter light, frame views, and moderate climate.
The homeowners, deeply influenced by Jain philosophy, envisioned a home rooted in simplicity, restraint, and purpose. At its core lies the principle of ‘Tyaga’; a Sanskrit word embodying renunciation and the letting go of excess. This ethos is translated into a built form that is pared down, functional, and deeply meditative. Every element is intentional. Every space, an invitation to pause.
This 4000 sq ft Jali House Reimagines Urban Residential Architecture | Studio VDGA
Beyond functional excellence, the 4000 sq ft architecture speaks to the five ‘Tanmatras’. The sensory elements of sound (Shabda), touch (Sparsha), sight (Roopa), taste (Rasa), and smell (Gandha). The home engages these senses in quiet, often unexpected ways. From the echo of footsteps on stone, the tactile roughness of native textures, to the fragrance of fresh air moving through the jalis. In this way, Jali House transcends the visual and becomes an immersive living experience.
The smart use of multilevel planning creates an illusion of expansiveness. It makes the home feel as though it sits on a much larger site than it actually does. A modest courtyard at the entrance introduces controlled natural light, infusing the interiors with a refreshing atmosphere.
This lightwell, vertically stitched through the floors, forms a strong spatial and emotional axis. It anchors the home and tying its levels together. It acts as the central lung of the house, nurturing both physical and psychological connectedness among its inhabitants.
The 4000 sq ft house features intricately carved stone jalis (lattice screens). It is not merely a decorative element but a vital architectural tool. These lattices serve a dual purpose. They shield the interiors from the harsh glare of the sun and the unsightly commercial buildings opposite the site. It also enables ventilation and diffused natural light.
Crafted from 30mm thick Indian sandstone slabs, these screens possess natural thermal properties that keep the surfaces cool while allowing hot air to dissipate through their perforations. In cooler or pleasant weather, they can be opened to offer unobstructed views and a seamless connection with the outdoors.
The son’s bedroom on the top floor is designed as a complete bachelor pad, featuring a private courtyard that leads to a neatly tucked-away study and activity zone. This thoughtful layout seamlessly extends the space to the private top terrace, creating a fluid indoor-outdoor connection.
Throughout the day, shifting sciographies animate the courtyard walls, casting everchanging patterns of light and shadow that bring the space to life, reflecting the seasonal moods. Each level of the home is designed to engage differently with light, privacy, and landscape, creating nuanced spatial moments that shift between openness and enclosure, exposure and intimacy.
The material palette of Jali House is deliberately minimal, yet deeply rooted in its geographic and cultural context. It resists extravagance, instead choosing to communicate through authenticity and tactility. Subtle white marble floors and softly textured off-white lime plastered walls (paste made at site) lend the spaces a sense of lightness and restraint, embodying an airy modernism that sets the tone for the entire house. These luminous surfaces act as quiet backdrops, allowing natural light and shadow to take on a dynamic, almost architectural role of their own.
In contrast, the generous use of locally sourced Indian stone brings a grounding, rustic warmth to the spatial experience. Whether underfoot, on the walls, or sculpted into the intricately carved jalis (interpreted in modern context), this native stone offers visual texture and thermal comfort. The intentional juxtaposition of raw and refined materials, the smoothness of marble against the grain of stone, the brightness of stucco against the earthy hues of natural textures, creates a dialogue between permanence and impermanence, refinement and origin. Together, they bestow the home with a timeless, quiet character that neither shouts for attention nor fades into the background.
The architectural skin of the house; calm, composed, and understated, sets the tone for what lies within. This outer restraint is complemented by a rich inner layering of surfaces, tones, textures and volumes. Interior elements continue the earthy palette through handcrafted wood, sandstone accents, and subtle fabric textures, creating a cohesive material narrative that is both calming and deeply sensory.
Jali House is not designed to dazzle on arrival. Instead, it offers a more contemplative encounter, a spatial experience that slowly unfolds, rewarding attention and patience. From the moment one steps through the threshold, the home begins to reveal itself as a carefully choreographed sequence. The interplay of light and shadow, filtered through jalis and reflected off pale surfaces, becomes a quiet performance that changes with the time of day and the seasons.
Despite its small footprint, Jali House tells a rich and layered story, one where architecture becomes a medium of subtle expression rather than spectacle. It is a quiet rebellion against excess, demonstrating how the intelligent use of materials, light, and proportion can create a profound sense of spaciousness and meaning. It is a house that embraces simplicity as sophistication, using the language of restraint to craft a home of uncommon elegance.
In its most distilled form, Jali House is a meditative exploration of what it means to dwell; to inhabit space not just physically, but emotionally, sensorially, and spiritually.
Fact File
Designed by: Studio VDGA
Project Type: Residential Architecture Design
Project Name: Jali House
Location: Pune
Year Built: 2025
Project Size: 4000 Sq.ft
Principal Designers: Deepak Gugarii
Design Credits: Rashi Saanson
Photograph Courtesy: Edmund Sumner
Firm’s Website Link: Studio VDGA
Firm’s Instagram Link: Studio VDGA
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