Office Name: Architectonica Procreate
Social Media Accounts: Instagram – @architectonica.india / Facebook – @architectonica.co.in
Contact email: info@architectonica.co.in
Firm Location: Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
– Surmaya Seven, Plot no. BH-14. Shilaj Nandoli Road, MU.PO, Rancharda, Gujarat 3821115
Completion Year: 2019
Gross Built Area (m2/ ft2): 113 m2
Project Location: Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
– 29 Radhe Acres, Shela, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380058
Program: Weekend Home
Lead Architects: Ar. Poonam Jolly
Lead Architects email: poonamjolly@hotmail.com
Photographer
Photo Credits: Ronit Hansole, Poonam Jolly
Photographer’s email: ronithalsore33@gmail.com, poonamjolly@hotmail.com
The Un-equilibrium house is a sustainable project; uses bespoke methodology and crafts and as little energy as possible. Nature has been fused with architecture in a way that blurs boundaries between the two.
A curved wall nicknamed ‘elephant’ is created in the house. The elephant fills the room and extends outwards into the landscape, luring a visitor towards the interiors. A visitor gets ingested in a space that expands and contracts.
In the tight geometry of right angles, the curved wall acts as a barrier and a bridge at the same time. Although the most massive element, it nullifies its existence by not touching the slab. The elephant penetrates the roof and gently flows downwards providing privacy and exposure simultaneously.
The house extends itself literally and metaphorically to the landscape outside.
The concrete slab rests on a minimal structure of shear walls and load-bearing bricks. The left side is fully supported and the right side is lightly supported, the imbalance is reflected in structure by giving deeper beams to the right side. The tapering roof thins down as it goes from more to lesser support below it, acquiring the name ‘UN-Equilibrium house’, the roof being lopsided yet balanced.
The house is a study in contrast- gold paint on a smooth gray wall, facing a pristine white wall with a mirrored niche. The eye gets drawn to the skies beyond through a high wooden roof. The space narrows in the kitchen, finding a release into the thick landscape beyond.
Mirrored dado gives the illusion of space and brings reflections of the landscape inside, blurring boundaries between real and illusionary.
The element of water is brought in by painting the canvas-clad wardrobe like the sea. Different shades are incorporated while casting handmade terrazzo flooring. All non-loadbearing walls are timber cavity walls with ribbed MDF inside, making this an eco-friendly solution to insulate the house.
The exterior of the partition walls is clad with waterproof pinewood battens, keeping the house cool in summers and warm in winters, also allowing for service conduits to pass through it.
Investing in fair-faced concrete is cheaper in the long run as it requires no plastering or paint. A door-cum-window is designed to allow light and air inside without opening the door. The patio roof extends into the bedroom providing a cozy and intimate feeling as well as bringing the temperature down by 8 degrees.
Wood bought from structures of old houses ensures good seasoning. Shuttering battens after being used three times were then used as a decking material for the bedroom patio, pine battens used for packing glass recycled as exterior paneling, wooden props used in construction recycled as security walls- ensuring no trees were cut, saving resources- sustainability redefined.
