Project Name: Cuckoo’s nest
Company Name: Between Spaces
Contact email: pramod@betweenspaces.co.in
divya@betweenspaces.co.in
touch@betweenspaces.co.in
Project Location: Bangalore, Karnataka
Completion year: 2020
Design team: Shveta Mohan, Pramod Jaiswal & Divya E
Site area: 313.5 sq. mt.
Built-up: 565 sq. mt.

Other collaborators

Structural Consultant: Kalkura associates
Civil Contractor: Ennkay constructions
Interior Contractor: Kanhayalal Sharma

Photo credits: Shamanth J Patil

Product Specifications
Wall cladding – sira grey granite
Toilet fittings – Toto, Grohe
Flooring – Vitrified tiles, Kajaria, Ispira
Kitchen – IFB
Wardrobes – Wurfel
Wall paint – limo coat
Lights – Hybec, light zone
Curtains – D’décor, Petals
Furniture – Sofa and dining table, Metal and grain

This is a close look at the front of the house that has red brick panels and slats on the ground level and concrete structures on the upper level.

This is a close look at the side of the house with consistent red brick slatted panels on the ground floor adorned by the landscaping of tall tropical trees.

This is another look at the front of the house showcasing more of the landscaping of tall tropical trees and well-manicured grass that complement the red brick panels.

This view of the front of the house showcases the large covered car port on the side of the house with a concrete driveway and a concrete cover.

This is a close look at the concrete structures and beams of the upper floor of the house with modern designs.

This is a concrete walkway within the house just inside the red brick slatted walls that improve ventilation and lighting.

This is the main entrance of the house with a dark walkway complemented by the slatted red brick panels on the side and the wooden main door on the far side.

Upon entry into the house, you are welcomed by this foyer with a white marble flooring and a built-in bench on the side that has a dark blue tone.

This is a close look at the living room that has beige sofas, white multi-tiered coffee tables and a blue wall on the far side.

This is a full view of the living room showcasing the blue walls of the TV that is just on the other side of the foyer. On the far side is a glass wall that opens up to the garden.

This is a view of the living room showcasing the sofa set and the abundance of natural lighting that comes in from the glass wall.

This is a close look at the sofa against the blue wall and the two-tiered coffee table. These are then complemented by the potted plants on the far corner.

A few steps from the living room is the dining area with a tall ceiling and a decorative lighting hanging over the wooden rectangular dining table.

The bedroom has a blue cushioned platform bed, a wooden bedside table and a pink cushioned chair for a reading nook.

This other bedroom has a couple of white wooden platform beds across from the built-in wooden cabinet and dresser. These are then complemented by the tall white cathedral ceiling.

Cuckoo’s Nest is built on a corner plot measuring 45’x75’ with roads on the western and northern edge in a gated layout and surrounded by a silver oak tree and some palm trees. The brief was to design a house that is simple, pragmatic, and modern for aging parents of the owners, the owners themselves, and their two sons.

The entire narrative of this house is constructed around the idea of playfulness and pragmatism. The name Cuckoo’s Nest alludes more to the playful imagery of Cuckoo’s clock. The proposed design interprets the typical layering in the south Indian temple complex, where the inner sanctum is surrounded by layers of pillared verandahs and the outermost layer of a tall fence.

This layering helps in gradually taking people from the chaotic outdoors to the serene and quiet indoors in a sequential manner.

Programmatically, the house has 2 bedrooms for the old parents, living, dining and a pooja room on the ground floor. The first floor has the kid’s bedroom, a study, and the master bedroom around a double-height volume over the dining area on the ground floor. A small garden on the northern side becomes an extension to the living room.

This garden is enclosed within a brick jaali wall on the northern side, to ensure good cross ventilation and a certain degree of privacy from the road without making the space feel cramped. The entry to the house has been deliberately convoluted to make the inhabitants move through a green edged verandah sandwiched between the courtyard on its eastern side and the brick jaali wall on the western side of the property.

The kid’s bedroom on the first-floor juts out of the main mass and has been crowned by a pitched roof, clad in Sirra Grey Granite, allowing a small loft over the bathroom. This doubles as a cozy play area for the kids. The inherent honesty and simplicity of the house are reflected in the usage of terracotta bricks, form-finish concrete, white walls, white marble, and very simple décor in the interior spaces.

A deliberate transition in scale and materiality is created through the brick jaali wall and the low height form finish roof over the entrance verandah which acts as a threshold between the immediate surrounding and the interior. The verandah leads to a foyer space separated from the living with the help of a filigree screen finished in MDF and dark blue color paint. The foyer leads to the living room and the double-height dining space, right in the center of the house.

The interior spaces are kept very simple with selective walls finished in hues of blues and browns. The interior spaces are flooded with indirect and soft daylights through skylights over the staircase and deep-set windows. Cuckoo’s Nest is designed to be a sanctuary intended to resonate with the silence and quietude of a temple complex, yet be filled with the sounds of conversation between three generations.