Fact File
Location: Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Size: 1400 sq m
Principal Architects: Sanjeev Panjabi, and Sangeeta Merchant
Photography by: Photographix India
Diya by SPASM Design Architects is crafted as an organic spatial experience, punctuated by a lower volume that meanders around the 248 trees present on the site. Ahmedabad is predominantly dry through the year, though it does rain occasionally during the monsoon months, from late June to August. The clients, a young couple with a nine-year-old daughter and their respective parents, contacted us to design a family home. Pre-existing trees and a large lawn prompted the exact positioning of the built form. Several foundations were carefully positioned and dug by hand to ensure the preservation of the roots, with the treescape facilitating specific vistas and open-to-sky courtyards. The result is a formless labyrinth of interconnected spaces.
The entrance marks a 16-metre column and a free-span canopy, which creates a 2.4-meter-high entry space bound by vertically pivoting wooden louvres. This filter-like space enables a perennial breeze to flow through the central courtyard beyond and sculpturally frames an existing Neem tree, highlighting the powerful presence of nature throughout the house. The ground level marks an organic spatial plan, bound by massive rammed earth walls with high thermal mass, courtyards, vertically pivoting wooden louvres and top-hung windows with mesh inserts that keep out mosquitoes and allow ventilation. Aided by giant sliding glass walls, which retract into pockets, the living and dining spaces seamlessly connect with the surrounding verdant environment. Shade, stemming from the upper cantilevering storey, brings respite and is a welcoming facet in this tropical region.
Apart from these heat mitigating measures, sprinklers activate on timers to humidify the courts which are all planted with Ferns, Monsteras, Allocasias, Philodendrons, Rafi’s palms, Terminalia, and other plant species. The upper storey is adorned with a skin of Corten—single elements of 0.5-metres x 5.5-metres high panels which hang from the internal structure, creating a permeable façade. This facilitates the absorption of heat from the sun and releases upward air circulation behind, hence reducing heat gain of the inner structure and interior spaces. The corners of the volume feature perforated jaali in tree and branch motifs, a reference to the Sidi Saiyyed Mosque jaali, an architectural wonder of Ahmedabad.
These spaces are adorned with dappled, patterned light and shade, and along with the sliding screens on the principal plane of the façade, cool the breeze through the Venturi Effect. The forthcoming nature of the clients led to the design of an entirely bespoke series of furniture and objects specifically for their homes. These were all designed in 20mm x 20mm brass sections and salvaged wood. Mirrors, towel racks, bookshelves, vanities, TV stands, occasional tables, and a nest of trays, were all part of the ensemble. The main staircase leading to the upper level is an assemblage of thick wood, akin to a stack in a drying yard, and the stair rail is crafted out of rosewood as a precious object with bent corners in cast brass, pronouncing an elegant luxury along with a sense of timelessness. The craftsmanship throughout the project is exquisite, while the intriguing art collection has been gifted by the clients’ friends and family over the years.
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.
