ARCHITECT SPEAK
Two architectural firms with different mindsets and thought process design two marvelous weekend homes, which are simply stunning and awe-inspiring
Stunning and marvelous weekend homes
Welcome to the grand home of the Reddy’s. A home that has ample space and enough ventilation. The proud owner says, “I wanted a home with nautical materials and wanted to be close to nature with a requirement for enough natural light to penetrate.” The central part of the home has greens and there is a staircase connecting all three floors of the home. The house comprises of a ground floor with a central open courtyard at the center with dining, living and the main entrance overlooking the natural courtyard, along with a sculptural staircase leading to all floors. The formal drawing room is concealed in the North west with one bedroom in the South west. The first floor overlooks the central stairwell and courtyard, with a master bedroom on the South west, and a guest room on the North west; on the North east side on the same floor is a living room and TV room. The second floor’s
entire North east is reserved for the terrace and bar. On the North west is the home theater and in the South west there is another bedroom used by Reddy’s son, a study is tucked away in the South east corner and all open areas overlook the sculptural staircase. The skylight provides natural light, which in turn allows the greens inside to grow. The furniture in the house are from an Italian company called Bonaldo, and all the art work is done by a family friend of the Reddy’s who brought about a magical feel with the use of colourful fabrics. The home is very warm, yet minimal in its decor and artistically designed around the sculptural staircase.
Having spent a career restoring heritage properties, conservation architect Abha Narain Lambah chose for her own vacation home a hundred year old Portuguese villa nestled in Anjuna village, just a two minute walk away from the beach. The villa was abandoned for more than 30 years and was lying decrepit, along with a small cottage, which was the neighbour’s cottage where the roof had collapsed altogether. Abha lovingly restored both these, taking care to restore the traditional balcaos - covered porches with red oxide built-in seating, oyster shell windows, timber trusses and terracotta tiled roofs. Abha mentions, “The entire palette of materials consists of rough shahbad flooring with aqua tile inserts, white epoxy floors in the bedrooms and white lime washed walls and furniture, giving a breezy tropical feel. Old antique furniture sourced from flea markets and Mumbai’s Chor Bazaar is used across the three
buildings that are set within a large garden with coconut and frangipani trees.” In the backyard, lie the outhouses - buildings used for toilets at a time when there were no en-suite toilets within the main house. These had been reduced to a pile of ruins over the decades of disuse - and here Abha created a new annex on the old footprint - a linear building with a sloping roof and with two en-suite bedrooms and a living room. The entire annex overlooks a pool and the glass doors slide open to create a cabanalike feel to connect the indoors to the outdoors. The white epoxy flooring connects the interior space and a palette of black and white dominates here. Additionally, quirky light fittings ranging from milk bottle chandeliers to clusters of tungsten lamps make for a youthful interior. The interiors overall maintain a strong contemporary sensibility, while paying homage to the traditional spaces.