Shaili Banker

Set in a dense urban neighbourhood, this is a small five bedroom residence situated in a quiet street of Ahmedabad. Privacy and natural light became a main concern when designing on plot with neighbouring houses so nearby. Each external surface of the house was made either opaque to provide privacy or transparent to permit natural light. Several cardboard models were made to understand these surfaces. Folds and half cuts of the cardboard became the exposed reinforced concrete surfaces, whereas the gap and punctures in between was where the natural light was allowed inside.

The front side of this house was the face that didn’t interfere into a neighbour’s view, this side faced south. And this was where maximum heat would enter the house. Thus the sun path was studied to understand the light penetrating inside the house during the day. This sun path determined where the exposed reinforced concrete surface was to be placed so that selective light would enter the house.

During the day the morning sunlight fills up the living room and the foyer, while around noon the patio sitting outside the dining would be flooded so that the dining room would be brightly lit during lunch time. The waterfall outside the dining provides a soothing view of water cascading down in the brightly lit noon light.

Neither does it want to interact, nor does it want to intrude.

Since this house has direct sunlight most part of the day, the interior surfaces has been rendered with an extensive use of colour to compliment it. An array of bright colours, have been added to create a vibrant atmosphere.