location: Solapur, Maharashtra, India | architecture: Sunil Patil – Principal Architect – Sunil Patil & Associates | interior design: Sunil Patil and Associates | photography: Sanjay Chougale
In a country with a history and culture such as India’s, it is interesting to observe how designers and architects bring that context into their contemporary renderings post-millennium.
This compact, ten-year old residence was designed for an industrialist couple with a natural flair towards creativity in art; both nurturing painting as their hobby. The architect maintains that the design concept for their home was very simple: a wall which runs from the front boundary wall to the rear, dividing the living space into two zones. It consists of a common area: living, dining and kitchen to one side; and the private areas of the master bedroom suite and studio on the other; the studio can be converted into a guest bedroom. This floor plan allowed for the maximum use of space on a plot area of just over 570 square metres, with built structure of 210 square metres.
Says architect Sunil Patil: ‘The wall is conceived as the vertical surface panel for the exhibition of their paintings. It is well lit by natural light through the provision of effective skylights for this purpose. In addition, the wall creates excellent interaction between the spaces on both sides through well considered openings. The interior spaces flow to the exterior and garden through various access points from the living, dining and bedroom areas. The intention here was to perfectly blend the architecture, interior decoration and landscape – in synch to complement each other – rather than have any one of these standing out as a dominant factor.
‘A small tree with a skylight over it and a rectangular base was inspired by the traditional ‘Par’ (a platform or katta under a banyan tree). It provides perfect casual seating for the bar and dining area. The frontal and side setbacks are well embellished with elements of landscaping enhancing the space visually as it extends to the plot boundaries.’
For the full article see Habitat #266 July / August 2018