Ashwini Tandon Residence

An odd trapezoidal 6000 sft piece of land dictated a simple floor plan concentrating on spatial flow and connection to the exterior.Extensive use of semi-open spaces like decks and verandahs are used to bring the outdoors in.    The entrance transports you to an alley in the Mediterranean.  Deep blue tiles on the risers, a steep stone wall undulates gently up on one side and an ochre wall embossed with the hands of all the labour, grabs you by the hand to take you in.

A large, expensive slab of stone cracked jaggedly during construction.  Instead of discarding the stone, we used it to fashion a whole design detail.  We continued the crack on the slats of teak wood, put the giant door on a pivot and created the front door.

This incident in a sense describes our design attitude for the Tandons.  It was intuitive and responsive to the design challenges.

The fluid expanse of the living-dining areas is punctuated by a perforated metal staircase in deep blue subtly demarcating a separate seating area to the right.  The atrium with the chess board set into its sira stone floor opens itself up with the help of a 17ft high sliding folding door creating breathtaking uninterrupted view of the sky, of the elements. This area is probably one of the most captivating areas in the whole house. This was done so that during poetry reading and short plays, the bermed grass would act as the seating and the courtyard with the staircase as a backdrop converts to a stage.  The outdoors wafts into the indoors with natural ease, creating a feeling of barrier less unity and openness.  Space flows in a way that the transition is smooth and non-fussy.

Rough uncut stone dress the outside walls, rough woods dress the front door and gate.  The same materials take different hues on the outside and inside.  Muted earth tones dominate the interior coloration with an occasional vivid accent that offsets the sobriety of the stone house.  The interiors exude a sense of comfort and understated luxury.