Fact File
Location: Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Size: 510 sq m
Principal Architect: Sönke Hoof
Photography by: Vinay Panjwani & Karan Gajjar (The Space Tracing Company)

Black Perch House by Vastu Shilpa Consultants in Ahmedabad is an extension and refurbishment undertaking on a 40-year-old bungalow. It is the extension and refurbishment of an existing residence located in a tight urban fabric, using most of the permissible ground cover. As no other space was available, the extension was placed on top of the existing split-level building. It adds a large living room with a kitchenette and a study cum guest room to the top of the house. All spaces overlook a large open-to-sky courtyard, which steps down the existing sloping roof. In contrast with the black façade, white oak is used for the flooring, ceiling, and furniture of the interior. Besides adding the new floor on top, most areas of the old house, from the entrance porch over the living room to the bedrooms, were reworked to match the changed requirements of the owners.

Alien-like, this clean, black cube is perched on top of the old structure as if it had landed from the sky—pushing on all sides up to the margin line and cantilevering far over the entrance side of the old house. All four outer sides of the cube are covered with movable wooden louvres, which allow the user to regulate the ingress of sunlight and views from and to the surroundings. The louvres were blackened following Shou Sugi Ban, an old Japanese technique for preserving wood by charring it with fire. Once charred, the wood resists further burning, water, sun, or pests. The black louvres are also a homage to the old wooden havelis of the old city of Ahmedabad.