Sedgemoore house

Sedgemoor was built between 1905 and 1912. In 1947, J. Krishnamurthy, the famous philosopher, and thinker stayed in it. It now is a holiday home for the Khitans. The original house, though in a fairly livable state, had very dim and gloomy interiors. Apart from the living spaces and the bedrooms, the rest of the house had tiny rooms and were in a fairly dilapidated state. The driveway to the house was worked in front of the house and crossed otherwise interesting step-out spaces. A level difference of about ten feet within the site rendered that part of the site difficult to access and was rarely used.

Sedgemoor went through several design approaches. The first approach was to Demolish and build anew! However, every time we visited the site the ‘look at me’, the message got stronger – the wooden porch looked more beautiful than ever before, the fireplace warmer and the wooden roof structural system intact. The issue was no longer about new versus old, but about the nature of the vital relationship between the two.

Having reorganized the spaces, we focussed our energies on to the landscape. The outdoor connections were constantly harmonized with the internal areas in a continuous kaleidoscope of external vistas. All the old doors and windows were reused. Ochre hues and skylights added light and color to the house making it cheerful.