Fact file
Location: Lucknow
Size: 790 sq m
Principal Architect: Sanjay Puri
Photographs by: Dinesh Mehta
18 Screens House by Sanjay Puri Architects is a highly contextual six-bedroom residence that references the traditional courtyard-centric home. Lucknow, India, has a rich heritage with numerous buildings dating back to the 18th century. The site for this house lies along a busy arterial road and is on the peripheral edge of an extensive planned development for private homes. The house is planned to allude to the traditional Indian courtyard house in response to the climate of the location. “Temperatures in the long summer months are over 35 degrees celsius, with the sun in the southern hemisphere,” explained the architects, outlining the design intent and context for the project.
While a six-bedroom house spanning 790 sq m is bound to come with an extensive set of requirements, the designers have ensured that open terraces, landscaping, and a generous interspersion of greenery work in harmony with the naturally ventilated central courtyard to cool the residence (apart from their aesthetic appeal). “Patterned screens derived from traditional Indian architecture and the famous Lucknow “chikan” embroidery sheaths define outdoor seating areas for each room on the south, west, and east sides. “These screens provide shelter from the sun, create different light patterns throughout the day, and mitigate traffic noise from the busy arterial road on the southern side,” said the architects.
A copious amount of filtered natural light enlivens the interiors through the presence of palatial glass windows on the northern side. The home is divided into distinct sections, each with a unique identity, through fluid, volumetric variations in the form anchored by the courtyard. “Built almost entirely in raw concrete, a natural palette of sandstone and wood with muted colours and vivid Indian art and landscape are brought together in different compositions in each of the internal volumes,” said the studio, expounding the material and décor palettes. “A series of experiences are created in this house that, by its design, facilitates natural ventilation and sunlight within and is simultaneously contextual to the location, sun articulation, tradition, culture, and social aspects,” they concluded.
Image caption, harmoniously combine two usually distinct indulgences
The link between the two main areas, the one closest to the entryway with the bar counter and lounge and the one at the rear reserved for aesthetic treatments, is a decorative feature with a great scenic impact: a series of deep blue glass portals guides the gaze towards the beauty area, giving the space perspective depth and a theatrical feel. This liminal space also houses the boutique and the facial bar, functions that will cater for a passing public and have faster times than the more complex treatments, as well as delineating the perimeter of the two lounges. “The management of flows and technical spaces,” the architects tell us, “was especially complex. The brief for both Ballard & Fant’s identities were quite specific and binding, so the phases of the choice of space and the layouts of the areas were the most challenging points in the whole project.” cts tell us, “was especially complex. The brief for both Ballard & Fant’s identities were quite specific and binding, so the phases of the choice of space and the layouts of the areas were the most challenging points in the whole project.”The link between the two main areas, the one closest to the entryway with the bar counter and lounge and the one at the rear reserved for aesthetic treatments, is a decorative feature with a great scenic impact: a series of deep blue glass portals guides the gaze towards the beauty area, giving the space perspective depth and a theatrical feel. This liminal space also houses the boutique and the facial bar, functions that will cater for a passing public and have faster times than the more complex treatments, as well as delineating the perimeter of the two lounges. “The management of flows and technical spaces,” the architects tell us, “was especially complex. The brief for both Ballard & Fant’s identities were quite specific and binding, so the phases of the choice of space and the layouts of the areas were the most challenging points in the whole project.” cts tell us, “was especially complex. The brief for both Ballard & Fant’s identities were quite specific and binding, so the phases of the choice of space and the layouts of the areas were the most challenging points in the whole project.”
The link between the two main areas, the one closest to the entryway with the bar counter and lounge and the one at the rear reserved for aesthetic treatments, is a decorative feature with a great scenic impact: a series of deep blue glass portals guides the gaze towards the beauty area, giving the space perspective depth and a theatrical feel. This liminal space also houses the boutique and the facial bar, functions that will cater for a passing public and have faster times than the more complex treatments, as well as delineating the perimeter of the two lounges. “The management of flows and technical spaces,” the architects tell us, “was especially complex. The brief for both Ballard & Fant’s identities were quite specific and binding, so the phases of the choice of space and the layouts of the areas were the most challenging points in the whole project.” cts tell us, “was especially complex. The brief for both Ballard & Fant’s identities were quite specific and binding, so the phases of the choice of space and the layouts of the areas were the most challenging points in the whole project.”
Image caption, harmoniously combine two usually distinct indulgences
The choice of materials and finishes was in keeping with this chromatic landscape. “Through the moodboard we visualized the allure of the space,” explains Pennesi. “An interplay of alternations between more or less tactile surface textures, contrasting colors and opaque and translucent finishes that create intriguing peep-through effects.”
This led to the choice of stoneware tiles by Ceramica Sant’Agostino, which deck the floors and bar counter with their dense and uniform speckled pattern and bind together the different areas into which the space is divided, wth laminates from Arpa Industriale and Kaindl, used respectively for the support surfaces and the structures of the bespoke furnishings.
“We chose these materials for both aesthetic and functional reasons. Aesthetic because this type of semi-finished product has color ranges that enabled us to make choices consistent with the palette we created; and practical because they are wearproof materials and ensure easy sanitization. In particular, Fenix, a special laminate we used to coat the counter top, with a surface that has a non-porous outer layer, makes the material easy to clean and suitable for contact with food as well as fingerprint-proof and pleasant to the touch.”
Even the lighting was curated in detail, helping create a pleasant and richly detailed environment. Bellhop cordless table lamps designed by Barber & Osgerby for Flos, illuminate the tables with their discreet light. Suspended above the bar counter is a spectacular suspension composition created with a series of “leaves” in Diphy polycarbonate. Designed by Mirco Crosatto for Stilnovo, it was inspired by a fascinating Japanese plant, whose flowers turn as transparent as crystal in contact with water.
