H-CUBE HOUSE Surat, Gujarat

The H-Cube House strikes a contemporary and modern note in a nondescript urban milieu. Architecturally, the form is derived by cutting up the structure ( specifically, the levels that house the living spaces) into four cubes, and shifting one quarter (on the upper level) out, to create a cantilevered block. A shift in material (concrete as opposed to white paint) distinguishes this volume further. Within it, is housed the master bedroom. The elevation also strikes an equilibrium between solidity and lightness; opacity and transparency. Below the cantilevered concrete block of the master bedroom, for instance, is a long L-shaped puncture spanning the two walls of the living room. Aligned to the client brief, the colour scheme is neutral and the material palette, minimal. Exposed concrete, white plaster, black limestone and teakwood are the mainstays of the unobtrusive shell, which is then overlaid with bright (but not overly so) soft furnishings and accessories. The materials have been deliberately left bare, bereft of any cosmetic additions, to let their purity shine through. Given its location, the house necessarily became an introvert one. The connections to the outside became discreet, shielded, which meant that ventilation had to be carefully resolved. Louvered windows in the south-west corner (on both levels) allow cool breeze in, while the warm air escapes through the vents of the skylight and windows along the eastern face. Additionally, the master bedroom has been given a slit-like sky-light just above the bed, which creates a living artwork on the exposed concrete wall, with the sciagraphy that plays through the day, and indeed, across season.