Excerpt: Brick Curtain House, designed by Design Work Group, seeks sustainable and functional amalgamation for the living environment. The layout was organized such that the private zone was at the inner side and public zone in the front, facilitated by a centralized connecting service. The spatial organization brought the biggest climatic challenge to the front facade, with large surface areas exposed to the West side, intensifying the heat gain throughout the day.
Project Description
[Text as submitted by Architect] Residence the architectural space we call a “House” is the image we have of a functional environment where we carry out part of our life. It is a place containing a Miniature Universe able to speak of its inhabitants and their lifetime achievements
There were three major driving forces that led to the accomplishment of the project
- Climate
- Context
- Client’s brief
India is a home to an extraordinary variety of climatic regions. The site being located in Surat, Gujarat falls into hot and humid climatic zone. High humidity, strong sun and glare from sky characterize the climate.
Our client having a family of 5, Mr. Kanji bhai Bhalala is a public figure whose only purpose is to serve the mankind and be in constant touch with people in the neighborhood and visitors throughout the day.
The site is a part of Residential society a corner plot approached from road on the west edge. The layout was organized such that the private zone was at the inner side and public zone in the front facilitated by a centralized connecting service.
On the ground, the front occupies parking while the rear consists of servant room and a multi-purpose hall that connects with the outdoor Garden.
In the habitable spaces above, Private spaces like kitchen, dining and bedroom are accommodated at the inner side of the house while the front portion serves the client interactive nature and hence contains Semi- Open Spaces on both the sides that helps connection with the neighbors with a double height Living area in the centre. Within the centralized connecting spaces lies the prayer area which can be looked up to from the 2nd and 3rd floor
Further, on the third floor, the Home Office is at front merging with the terrace garden on the sides.
The spatial Organization brought with it the biggest climatic challenge the front facade with large surface areas stood exposed to the West side intensifying the heat gain throughout the day.
To reduce heat, gain various explorations were done after understanding the architectural elements of hot climatic region:
- Material
- Texture
- Jali
- Engraving
The analysis led us to select BRICK – a module that is raw and natural just as the client, and could help create projections reducing the heating effect.
A brick façade with bulges protruding in and out was selected. As the façade majorly needs to shade the central indoor environment the two ends are straight without bulges, giving the undulations in the centre a firm hold.
The central portion was divided in three parts each having 3 bulges in a series. To structurally hold the huge façade of 83 layers, vertical and horizontal reinforcement was added.
The chosen form served dually:
- Individually the brick module shaded itself.
- Convex bulges in the wall would shade its lower concave bulges, doing the same shading thing at larger level.
The house is a perfect epitome of how a plane curtain itself. It stands out and connects to surroundings – both at the same time. The brick façade provides an ideal backdrop for the living area and major interaction spaces aesthetically adding simplicity and integrity to the design.
Overall, the expression of house is response to client’s affinity for nature. It’s an outcome of seeking sustainable and functional amalgamation for the living environment.
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