Fact File
Location: Chandigarh
Size: 796 sq m
Principal Architects: Badrinath Kaleru, and Prerna Kaleru
Photography by: Purnesh Dev Nikhanj
House 1559/36D by Studio Ardete is a spatial experience that thrives on the interplay of lifestyle, art, and nature. The 836 sq m residential project is located in one of the privileged neighbourhoods of Chandigarh, flanked by a green belt on one side and a view of the Shivaliks on the other, juxtaposed against an urban landscape. Our primary design response was to encourage the occupant of the space to be in a constant dialogue with either nature or art, and sometimes with both. In response to David Craib’s quote, “Design should never say… “Look at me!” It should always say, “Look at this!” The most irrefutable part of our design intent was to raise the common leisure zone to the top of the house. The terrace is transformed into an observation deck as it captures a snap of the hills.
The canopy of trees creates the illusion of an infinite green in the terrace garden. Swimming becomes more sensual than physical activity with the addition of raw greens. The way design responds to nature is sometimes almost too literal, like the stone laying around the existing mango trees, and at other times it is in the form of art left to the imagination of the occupant. There is a construction sincerity that prevails as levels interplay with each other to balance the depth of the pool with the terrace level. The interiors follow the same logic of purity. A thoughtful experiential sequence in the below floors meanders one through the living spaces on the ground. For instance, the translucent partitions function as a visual invitation to spaces above and beyond you.
Nature almost always sees you naked through the large glass doors and windows. Elements like a carved courtyard, glass bricks, louvres, pergolas, and other openings catalyse dialogue between the observer and are observed via the play of light, shade, ventilation and the colours of nature. The ground floor plan is a drama between three zones. It grades from public spaces like the great room and living area ambiguously interlocked with semi-private areas of the kitchen, dining lounge and family lounge that finally meet the private bedrooms at the rear end. Existentialism is sometimes exaggerated by mirror mosaic tiles on ceilings, in chandeliers, or as wall art where your reflection becomes nature.
The first floor is a Lego arrangement of three bedrooms, each with its private terrace. The spatial quality of these terraces is distinctive. The master bedroom is intentionally designed in a trapezoidal layout to re-orient the room for the best vista and re-emphasize the importance of biophilia. The bed is placed in the centre to allow for a free flow of energy along borders, but more than that, it is an ode to the walls that make a room. In some parts, the flooring of most everyday spaces—the bedroom and the terrace—merges, blurring the boundaries between what is inside and what we consider outside. The observer becomes the subject of their observation. It is an attempt to redefine nature, which leaves the occupant cognizant of their presence.
