City House – Chennai

This post was drafted some time ago but then not published on request of the clients and their need for privacy and time to settle into the house. Now the house and the interiors have been published in the recent issue of AD India (a separate post) and we finally got the ok to go ahead with this one 🙂

“According to Kabbalists, “time” is a paradox and an illusion. Both the future and the past are recognised to be combined and simultaneously present.” (wikipedia)

This project – stretching for a rather unbelievable span of five human years –  surely allows to adhere to the above view. However, now the building is almost there, the client and the architect are still on good terms (maybe better than ever before), the house has come out beautiful (while still some issues are being worked out) and the residents have moved in, appreciating the flow of space, air, light …

What has been achieved is pretty much what we had in mind when starting the work – to create a house which makes one forget that one lives in the heart of a Indian city. Light, nature, air … are all allowed to flow through the spaces and from most of the windows one looks into nature. The next weeks will see the finishing of last items (some windows and doors need corrections) and then the residents can finally enjoy what they have been waiting for so long.

The above photo shows the house seen from the small dead end street with its west-facing entrance elevation.

When approaching the house the upper floors with the recessed living room and master bedroom facade …

The facade seen from South West … from the onset the lady of the house needs to be congratulated for the beautiful landscape design she did along with a very knowledgeable plant specialist and I am happy that the architecture could support the wish of the clients to live close to nature on every level.

The North West entrance leading to the larger car park area inside … this area is still worked on: the walls of the foyer will have an exquisite grey cement finish, there won’t be rubber mats lying on the floor etc.

The above three photos show the entrance area with the large wooden gate (solid teak wood on MS frame), a “forest” of trees as buffer to the – quiet – road and the granite and brick decking of the front porch area. Again, credit goes mostly to the aforementioned designers  with the architecture the backdrop to the rich landscape design.

Once inside the foyer area on the ground floor, a large staircase leads up to the main living area on the first floor. RCC, steel supports and solid teak planks (seamlessly laminated from individual pieces) …

The staircase runs parallel to large windows open to the South, the bamboo landscape and the green neighbouring plots beyond.

Already visible is the large amount of daylight in the upper floor …

While we are still in the process of solving various issues with the execution and quality of the wooden doors and windows installed by Chennai based company Soundarya, the staircase is beyond doubt beautifully done.

Please see an earlier post for the floor plans and the initial staircase render. Click here.

The photo taken from the top of the staircase shows the well executed detailing of the Botticino marble floor, the wooden steps, the grey granite lining of the window jambs and the wooden window system.

Coming up the staircase one looks into the first floor roof garden. The clients’ brief asked for a direct step into a jungle and I believe the architecture and the skills of the landscape team have managed that quite well – complete with water body.

The water body on the terrace …

The handrail, a playful pattern in the floor (Botticino and Arabian Grey marble in a herringbone pattern) to mark the transition toward the dining area, reflections and nature wherever one looks…

Below: an external courtyard on the first floor (connecting the three floors together and bringing in light deep into the house).

The aforementioned internal courtyard – triple height and open to sky – with several ficus trees growing.

The detailing of the wood down and up …

Below: The first flight of the main staircase connecting from first to third floor …

The second flight leading up to the second floor – looking into the courtyard and the ficus trees…

The second floor corridor looking at the staircase and the mentioned court. To emphasize the difference in character between the first floor (more “public” with living and dining) and the second floor (more “private” with three bedrooms) the flooring changed from marble to solid teak wood floor.

Looking down the staircase to the first mid-landing. the detailing of wooden floor, glass and railing is well visible.

The second floor corridor as seen when stepping out of the master bedroom with another internal courtyard in the distance …

The second courtyard – flooring detail. The photo below shows the cement finish of the courtyard walls.

A view down into the triple height courtyard …

Below: The roof garden on the third floor … in the middle of Chennai 

The detailing of the water body and the selection of plants show the overall level of consciousness which went into the design and the construction of the building – certainly one of the reasons the project took so long. Here thanks again to the creators of this beautiful landscape which make the building complete 

A view of the entertainment room on the third floor (half the floor plate is for the landscape as seen in the pictures before, the other half for the large entertainment room with bar area, powder and massage room) with a view of the Western terrace looking through a pergola to the first floor courtyard and the entrance below. Not yet finished decorated and placeholder furniture …

Above and below: The Western terrace and details of the wooden windows and doors…

As a parting photo of this post a view of the entrance patio as seen from the main door …

This post was mostly about the shell, the connection between a building and nature and the common spaces. The interior works have not been completed and a lot still has to happen. More to follow if the clients are ok with publishing their private home 🙂

Earlier posts on this site show the conceptual floorplans and render images. Click here.