Crafted for a young couple, this Noida home by Design Plus Architects employees local materials and innovative construction technology

“Design as you please; but this is my budget!” That’s the brief the architects received from the client. Flexible yet restricted at the same time, the brief was almost paradoxical in nature. Architect Abhishek Bij of Design Plus Architects accepted the challenge. “Any project where an architect receives an open hand is an ideal project. However, it’s also an immense responsibility. It helped that we knew the occupants well personally, and could discuss accurate programmatic solutions during the formation of the brief,” informs Abhishek.

The house is designed for a young nuclear family who love entertaining. “The couple is known for hosting impromptu gatherings, and hence we decided to take the public function to the second floor. While the indoors can accommodate a gathering of 18, the adjacent terrace is designed for a gala!” It’s a home designed for entertaining. To assist in hosting the frequent galas, the terrace landscape carries functional elements like a built-in barbeque, platform for lighting a bonfire, permanent wood clad furniture and abundant plantation. The fact that the owner is always the life of the party, and never away from a jovial narration, the terrace even features a small amphitheatre for his potential audience.

Yet another interpretation of the requirement was an expandable kitchen to accommodate training sessions conducted by the lady of the house, who is also a professional chef. The kitchen features a collapsible wall that doubles up as a worktop to allow for five students, with vantage to the various culinary activities. The ever-present scent of the Nimbu tree, the monochromatic geometric flooring inlays, the clean terrazzo floor, the enjoyment of lazy winter afternoons on the veranda, fuse the essential romance to the spaces.

The Green Story

“What worked in our favour was how completely synchronised the clients were with the studio’s philosophy of being ethically green. In fact, the house has received a platinum certification from IGBC Green Homes,” informs Abhishek. The residence falls under the composite climatic zone and attempts an energy cost savings of more than 30% over the baseline. The energy conservation measures include efficient lighting, efficient air conditioning and solar PVs.

Waste segregation and tying into the existing waste management ecosystem of the neighbourhood was integral to the design. “Additionally, we avoided sending almost 60% of the construction waste to the landfill. We procured the materials from within 400 km of the site,” adds Abhishek. The studio employed sustainable construction methods such as the re-use of custom shuttering. The master bedroom and the bar carry a trimmed concrete shell as the roof. The shuttering for this is FSC certified yellow cedar wood. Aesthetically, this ensures beautiful grains
on the underbelly. Post de-shuttering, the materials were reused as wall panels, false ceiling and
some door frames.

A Lesson in Construction Technology
The project offered the architects the potential and the opportunity to experiment with several design and construction techniques. From designing elements using custom written codes, such as the parametric brick wall and parapets or the double curved canopies, to relying on century old methods of spanning distances like the jack arch—the house served as a testing bed for hi-tech design marrying low tech construction. “In fact, our principal, Arun Bij, organised building construction classes for the studio, especially since some of the elements needed were dying skills. Terrazzo flooring, for instance, was once a thriving and economic flooring system that has completely gone out of the current preference list. These classes made us romanticise an era where the architect himself was the master builder.”

FACT FILE

Program / Use / Building Function: Private Residence

Lead Architects: Arun K Bij, Abhishek Bij

Gross Built Area: 6000 Sq ft

Project Location: Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India