Chandigarh House
We were commissioned by a client to design a new build house in a central location in Chandigarh, adjacent to its famed Rose Garden.
The design of the house marries local craft and material with modernist design principles, a subtle nod to Chandigarh’s town planner in chief, Le Corbusier.
Whilst the house was designed primarily for two people, our clients also wanted to be able to host and entertain friends and family. The program therefore called for large living areas with a generous kitchen and an outdoor service area.
Conceived as a stack of ‘jenga’ blocks, the house is a compact structure punctuated by deep openings that frame the landscape and moderate the climate. On the ground floor, the ‘jenga’ blocks house subsidiary spaces like garage, kitchen, guest quarters, while the living & dining spaces are the open spaces between the blocks.
On the first floor, the three bedroom suites & study housed within the ‘jenga’ blocks are arranged at ninety degrees to the blocks below, with a TV area within the open area. Where the two open plan areas coincide a double height space is created. Illuminating the double height space is a marble clad skylight. The predominant use of Rajastani lime plaster on the exterior enhances the simple geometry of the building. The heterogenous aggregate of the lime plaster allows the house to change hue and texture according to how and where the sun hits it.
