The Lattice House by The Design Alley

The Lattice House, is a Mixed use development (commercial + residential) located on a busy commercial street in the town. The ground, first and second floors of the building were to be designed for commercial use, the grid had to be flexible as the business occupying it was not initially decided. Later, A Restaurant and lodging came into picture and its interior was designed accordingly. The top two floors are designed to be a calm and cosy abode for a doctor couple and their children. The couple being busy in their profession for most of the time wanted a minimalistic and low maintenance decor for their home. The material palette: The residence is designed to be minimalistic and climate responsive. To achieve this, the material palette consists of Kota flooring, Terracotta screens that filter the harsh sun without blocking the breeze. In the Formal living room, Terracotta Jali facade on the southern side balcony cuts the harsh sun and gives a panoramic view of the city. The adjacent surface is cladded with veneer; this actually is the rear side of a storage unit that divides the living and bedroom. It acts as the Wardrobe for the bedroom, while in the living room; it becomes the backdrop for the seating. The Jali and Veneer together render warmth to the space. The southern sun filters through the jali to create beautiful sciographical pattern on the veneer that keep on changing throughout the day. The space is furnished with some bold pieces of Furniture. The challenges: It is located on one of the busiest streets in an upmarket area of the city, the challenge here was to design a multifunctional building (commercial + residential) on a moderate size plot of 3500 sq.ft. such that the commercial part makes most of the business opportunities, but at the same time the residential floors enjoy privacy and serenity devoid of the outside hustle bustle. The highlights: The architectural character stands out amongst the surrounding buildings of almost same size and proportion. Quashing the trend of glass clad facades to make it commercially attractive; a climate responsive design was implemented consciously by rendering the façade in Terracotta jali. The massing in jali thus achieves a unique architectural character. It filters the harsh southern and western sun, making the building stand out on a street full of cosmetically cladded buildings, and thus becoming unique in the cityscape and even more commercially viable. The takeaway: The most important takeaway from this project is changing the image of so called “commercial” facades in the city. Also, working in a flexible grid, which will allow the user to cater to different businesses in future. Managing manifold requirements in a decent size plot was another criteria we tackled in this project.