In the midst of building their 185-square-metre
home in a village near Pune, India, the client approached Karan Darda
Architecture (KrDA). Their job was relatively simple to take the client’s
nostalgic memories from their childhood home, and engrain its threads into this
one. And the House of the Serene Past started to take shape. “The client wanted
this house to be a place for relaxation, where his family could come and enjoy
holidays or weekends, referencing his childhood traditional Maharashtrian home”.
“We decided our design would be something which would connect him back to the
roots of a traditional house,” which KrDA explored through a contemporary
Indian design lens. At this stage, you’re probably wondering, what makes a house
Maharastrian? Aside from the aroma of
mustard seeds and curry leaves wafting from their kitchens, Maharastrian homes
are typified by stone walls, wooden staircases and open chowks (internal
courtyards).
The traditional wooden stair and
placed it centre stage. The teak stair is bent and pulled up through two
levels, unravelling through the core of the home. It retains the materiality of
traditional staircases found in Maharastrian homes, but creates a sense of
ornament through quite a modern manner. It becomes something monolithic,
sculptural and object-like.
In the absence of a chowk, a large void in the
centre of the home, funnelling light through the two stories—very much like a
chowk would. Dancing around the unravelling stair, the light becomes a playful
element in the heart of the home.
While embracing stone throughout the exterior
of the build, perhaps the most visually consistent element inside this home is
the black granite flooring wrapping up the walls, and framing the doors and
windows. The key here is consistency. Every room has this detail. It’s one that
binds this home together, and also creates a sense of connection across the
interior, no matter where you are.
Many of the bold gestures and strong
materiality are offset by a calm softness, brought in through upholstery and
dressings. The windows, lined with bamboo blinds, present what Karan refers to
as “a meditative quality”. Views from windows placed at various heights provide
soft outlooks to foliage beyond. Feeling pretty relaxed already, right? We
haven’t even got to the living area. This key room is split into two parts and
presents two traditional comforts found in Indian homes -the divan and the
jhula.
A sunken portion of
the lounge is lined with a traditional divan at its perimeter. It is a place to
relax, but not the type of lounging done on a couch. A divan forces you to take
your shoes off. Then kick those legs up and recline. To lean back on your
elbows and enjoy that hot cup of chai. And of course, to chat with the person
swinging on the jhula—the second element KrDA built into this traditional
setting. A lounge-like swing, jhulas are typically built from timber, and
suspended from high ceilings. Constructed out of the same timber as the
joinery, wall and ceiling panelling beyond, this jhula is no sore thumb in this
contemporary Maharashtrian home.
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