LUXE LIVING
Architect Rajiv Saini decodes what designing luxurious homes really means
When it comes to architecture, especially interior architecture, for architect Rajiv Saini, luxury in the conventional sense is overrated. Besides the usual markers of a luxe home—the right colours and a rich material palette—for him true luxury is measured in terms of space and volume, and how far one is able to customise it to suit the client’s needs. “It’s the difference between a ready made suit and a good tailored one,” says the architect. A decaying colonial bungalow brimming with antiques can be as luxurious as a Brutalist cement cube in which a statement-making sofa seems to hover, spacecraft-like. “Spatial luxury is not about only the volume but also smaller details such as the views, location and high ceilings,” he says.
Every home has its own unique design language, believes Saini, who shares an example of a holiday home he designed on the banks of the Ganges. “Each room had to overlook the river, otherwise, what was the point of having a home in such a space. The design therefore had to be linear.” Another example is a second home he designed for the owners of a diamond factory in Surat. “The owners spend two days every week in Surat. So, they bought a plot overlooking the Tapti River. Not only did we maximise the view but also used wood to create a warm and cosy feel,” says Saini. Equally alluring is a holiday home in Aamby Valley, on the outskirts of Mumbai, where he used pigmented concrete to add texture to the space.
If pigmented concrete added another dimension to this home, exposed concrete gave a rustic-chic look to a holiday home in Dhampur, three hours from Delhi.
As for city dwellings, Saini believes here too one can play with scale and form. “So, if we used European pieces and a clean and straight-line design in a home in Mumbai, for a Friends Colony 30,000 sq ft home in Delhi, bricks create a mesmerising effect,” he says. Another example is a 10,000 sq ft duplex in Mumbai that overlooks the ocean, where his client wanted to use an ornate chandelier. It was a challenge as he does not usually use such pieces in his designs. Saini balanced the other elements with the room to allow the chandelier to become the pièce de résistance of the space.
Art is another element one finds in a luxe home. “However, the idea should not be to force artists into a client’s home, rather it’s about taking them to galleries and exposing them to art as well as artists, or commissioning special pieces,” says Saini. To illustrate this he gives the example of a home in Rajokri in Delhi where in a glass cube he placed a Subodh Gupta sculpture. The sculpture was suspended in the cube and as someone crossed the interactive artwork, it would play the sound of utensils crashing. For a client in Mumbai he bought a beautiful screen painted on both sides. “We had to break walls so that when the screen was placed, it could be viewed from both sides,” says the architect.
When designing homes, he steers clear of a signature style, instead customises spaces. “The process of designing—whether an apartment, bungalow or villa—begins with asking the clients questions such as how they unwind, where they drink their tea, or watch TV, what their interests are. That is the only way to truly customise a space to suit all their needs,” he says. For Saini, it’s all about creating choreographed aesthetics, where there is no confusion between function and design. More often than not, he ends up breaking down walls and working with an empty floor plan. After all, interior architecture talks of how you inhabit the space. And that’s what true luxury is about.