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tulsi villa twin bungalows

palanpur, gujarat; 2010

This 60 house twin bungalow project was developed for a site at the edge of Palanpur city. At the scale of the site, three open spaces work as lungs for the dense plots while one way roads loop around to avoid the tight turn at a dead end! A first, paved garba surface for dances and processions, a second, soft with grass and pipal trees cools the site at the heart, and a third, laid with sand, gives a small play area for exploratory children.

House plans are simple and open with a verandah at front that mediates the living space with the street, and at entry a bit of sky drops in to light the tulsi, whose position ties together the living and eating spaces inside. The stair travels to top, built out to provide a safe and organizing structure for inevitable and invited family expansion.

post occupancy study...

apartment at Metro cinema

Mumbai, Maharashtra 2012 - 2013

the renovation of a small apartment in an apartment building built in 1942 in South Bombay opens up a boxy 600 square foot apartment to create an open plan that pulls in dayligt from the perimter and cleverly inserts storage into all possible pockets.

2 square house

Ahmedabad area, Gujarat 2010 - 2013

Two heavy cubes, connected by a bridge and sheltered by steel supported roof shades, house four bedrooms, kitchen, dining and gathering spaces that open onto a deep verandah and extend into a long garden outside.

The pitched roof is pulled apart at the ridge to allow light in, and hot air out, while its double layered structure uses the ventilated air space between two surfaces to mediate the sun's heat. Openings that cut through the length of the building allow air to pass through the ground floor and rise to release from first floor spaces.

Inside, pivoted glass frames sit canted so that they could be cut from one piece of wood, a fabricated pulley system with silken threads opens clerestory windows, and marble door panels let diffuse light into a puja space adorned by the light sprinkled from hammered brass chhatri.

mt. abu retreat

Mt. Abu, Rajasthan, 2012

The renovation of a forty-year-old retreat in Mt. Abu takes on an aging, random rubble structure retained against a slope of stone.

Main strategies were to open the interior to the views, blur the scale of the structure with exaggerated railings and diversify the experience of varied zones within the house through the introduction of lightweight, indicative yet almost immaterial spatial divisions. Robust furniture was introduced with the intention to withstand , with minimal maintenance, the rough of use of many visitors.

gelato shops

Ahmedabad, Gujarat 2011 - 2012

Simple stone and wood balance the colorful gelato cases in these long skinny stalls around Ahmedabad. Designed for intense use, rugged stone benches with light cushions provide comfort on a clean cool surface.

magnolia office

Ahmedabad, Gujarat 2012

Tucked under an existing house, this office space takes advantage of the daylight with glass partitions and a fiberglass shade that wraps steel members to filter diffuse into the sitting are below.

Inserted into a lightwell, the stair makes the most of its dimensional constraints and works as entry and security. Each tread is suspended individually from the beam above and anchored to form a space under shelter but still outside. In the space itself, translucent cabinets mark the division of waiting and meeting, and the simple, clean surfaces are punctuated with colorful or antique embellishments.

2' x 2' terrace

Ahmedabad, Gujarat 2010

This installation uses a 2' x 2' ms grid to structure every element of this gathering space. Out of it grow benches, tables, bar, lights, serving counter and shelter. Teakwood strips create the shade, surfaces and seats, while white marble cubes, directed lighting and a glowing floor subtly light the place. The floor is elevated 6 inches and clad with perforated galvanized iron sheets, providing shade to the roof below and a well ventilated, quick-cooling surface for night time events.

The project was also an experiment in remote supervision, designed to detail and conveyed through skype, photos and phone calls, constructed while we traveled.

take away box

Ahmedabad, Gujarat 2011

This delivery kitchen is designed for the brief waiting time to pick up take away orders. Frosted glass panels allow a fuzzy glimpse of the kitchen inside while a transparent glass connects the room outside. The remaining sides are coated with kadappa and 2 seats made from teakwood logs are perched to serve.

sadara vrukshwadi

Sadara, Gujarat 2010

This building is the first installment in a community center for a village near Ahmedabad. The campus sits near the edge of the village, and is now home to a growing number of community programs such as khakhra making, tuition classes, music performances, and health camps. The module can be repeated in the future, alternating along an axis that runs at the edge of the planted orchard. Plans for its expansion include an old age home, ayurvedic, homeopathic and allopathic clinics, yoga and organic farming facilities.

GHAR unjha

Unjha, Gujarat 2007 - 2009

GHAR in Unjha is designed for a client who wanted a private, introspective home.

The building works to mitigate northern Gujarat’s harsh climate through an extra layer of skin that wraps the entire space. The protective, tall wrapper allows the building to open at the center, with a green, open to sky courtyard around which rooms are situated, structured by a ramp that runs along the western wall.