Architect’s Firm: Saransh
Client: Harish Sharma
Typology: Residence
Program: Family Home
Address: Ahmedabad
Location: 23.033108, 72.524460
Start date: 12 Mar 2017
Finish date: 17 Oct 2020
Status: Completed
Built-Up Area: 3600 sq.ft
Site area: 1350 sq.ft
Design Lead: Malay Doshi
Design Team: Nirali Patel, Tamanna Gupta, Gauri Kanchan
Photography: Ishita Sitwala | The Fishy Project
Visualization: Satvik Bhavsar | Chasing Light Studio, Kalpesh Patoliya
Structure: 912 Consultants
Plumbing: Ravi Engineering Corporation

This is a close look at the front exterior of the house that has wooden accents to the exterior walls and balconies.

This view of the front of the house showcases the large car port on the ground level that also leads to the main entrance of the house.

This is a close look at the living room that has a leather sofa set adorned with an indoor garden.

The indoor garden is a few steps away from the staircase with a dark tone that makes it stand out.

The staircase on the side of the indoor garden also has a set of steps that lead to the lower level of the house.

This is a full view of the living room that has matching sofa sets brightened by the natural lighting of the glass waindows.

This is a look at the large atrium with an indoor balcony, large pendant lights and an indoor garden at the bottom.

This second level landing showcases a view of the living room area and the glass railings.

This view shows the wrought iron railings of the staircase and the potted plant on the corner.

This is a top view of the wooden main door of the foyer with a herringbone design.

This is a close look at the top landing of the staircase leading to a wooden wall with a wooden door of the same tone.

This view shows the paneled walls of the interiors brightened by the natural lighting and the contrast of the railings.

The landings of the iundoor balcony of the house has glass walls that pair well with the surrounding paneled walls and wrought iron.

This is the top of the stairs that lead to a glass wall with a glass door topped with a large glass ceiling.

This is a closer look at the black railings of the staircase making the steps stand out.

This is a close look at the formal dining area that has a large rectangular dining table that matches the tone of the hardwood flooring.

This is a top view of the indoor garden at the bottom of the large tall ceiling atrium.

This is a close look at the bedroom that has a bed with a headboard built into the wall that contrast the gray concrete tone of the walls and ceiling.

This is a look at the bedroom that has a wooden platform bedframe that matches the hardwood flooring brightened by the glass walls of the sitting area on the side.

The bedroom also has large built-in wooden cabinets on the side of the bed that also matches with the hardwood flooring.

This is a look up the tall ceiling of the atrium from the vantage of the indoor garden.

This is a close look at the multiple pendant lights of the indoor balcony over the central atrium of the house.

This is a look at the indoor balcony that showcases the wooden panels of the walls and the glass walls of the top floor.

This is an aerial view of the house showcasing the surrounding buildings and landscape.

This is an illustration of the house's ground level floor plan.

This is an illustration of the house's main level floor plan.

This is an illustration of the house's second level floor plan.

This is an illustration of the house's side elevation showcasing the various sections.

Situated in the heart of the city of Ahmedabad, HS house is a compact family home with common walls shared with the houses adjacent to it. This context gets a little tricky as buildings on both sides were supposed to remain untouched while the house in between them, was to be demolished and built again.

While designing HS House, the biggest contextual challenge was that the light and ventilation were only possible through the two short sides of the house. This was the defining factor behind the design, which led to the insertion of a large court in the middle, to light up the entire house. The glass box above this court is used as a hot air attractor creating an air draft upwards, which is then removed through small openings at both sides.

Spatially, the house is planned in a simple manner. The first level is a gathering area with a small back garden and a central court garden which is the space that one first enters into. This level goes down to a basement space meant for future development and goes up to the kitchen and dining level with a large outdoor balcony that opens in the front facade.

From then onwards, each level is an individual bedroom with an attached toilet. At the topmost level, the lower terrace acts as another gathering space while the upper one on the rear end is a service terrace. A small elevator has been incorporated, for the elderly to have easy access throughout the house.

Volumetrically, the house is divided into split levels to squeeze in as much of the spaces as possible in a small volume, allowing for the front of the building to lie half a story lower than the back. This also provided an opportunity to focus on the experience of moving vertically in the central court.

The materiality of the house is kept at a bare minimum, with exposed concrete allowing for natural light to create dynamism through the entire home. On the ground floor, the exposed concrete has a black pigment in it and is cast using wooden strips. This was done through pre-cast concrete panels to reduce the cost, as well as to use the least possible amount of wood.

The horizontality of these panels, along with the larger amount of texture and a darker color, gives the house a heavy base. The parts above were cast in-situ with the natural light grey shade of concrete. All the bedrooms have different patterns cast across the concrete, some with grooves inlaid with brass.

The staircase is the main sculptural element in the house which connects essentially two separate concrete blocks. Made using a metal structure sandwiched by sheet metal, it is structurally spanned with the help of a thick handrail that acts as a beam, suspending the staircase from it. Wooden treads on top of this black metal staircase add a softness, allowing ease to walk on it barefoot.

Throughout the house, Kota stone is used in the flooring in multiple patterns, differentiating movement area from the places of pause. Metal accents apart from the staircase are black as well, and wooden accents are used throughout in windows, doors, partitions, storage, and even the flooring in the private spaces.