“I’M GLAD I WENT ALONG WITH THE IDEA,” SAYS THE OWNER. “IT ADDS AN INTERESTING TOUCH TO WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN TOO SPARTAN”

a fountain. Another point of interest is the makeshift tree on top of the garage. “Initially, I wanted to put a real tree there,” says the owner. “Carlo had a better idea—he constructed something more industrial. And because I like bicycles, you can see that the ‘plant’ sort of resembles one.”

The home opens up to a large area, where the living room integrates seamlessly with the kitchen and the outdoor pool. “It was very important to me that the areas accessible to the public are larger than the bedrooms,” says the owner. “These large open areas make the house look bigger, giving everyone plenty of space to roam free.” For a family that loves to entertain, that’s only logical. On days when they hold social gatherings, they open up the glass doors that lead to the pool area, allowing guests to trickle in and out as they please.

The kitchen is also a special place for the family. The lady of the house is a skilled cook, and this is where she prepares and serves her sumptuous spreads. They also have their meals here; the cosy space gives the family a feeling of intimacy. One of the most noticeable elements of the kitchen is the laser-edged panelling that separates it from the living room. “I spent a lot of time looking for doors, and the options that were readily available in the market weren’t really jiving with what I had in mind,” says the owner. “Carlo suggested movable panels. These—as well as the panels for the downstairs powder room and upstairs bedrooms—were laser-edged with negative reliefs of rock texture, which conform to the brutalist nature of the house.” Just outside the kitchen is a concrete and brass bar inspired by the one owned by Tony Stark in The Avengers. Mixing drinks is one of the homeowner’s many hobbies; having a coollooking, fully-stocked bar was a big priority for him.

The staircase is an art piece on its own. Calma merged layering techniques with optical illusions to create a dynamic structure that tricks the eye. “It looks different from every angle, and even serves