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Photographs: SATVIK

Multiple skylights were employed by Studio Decode to give this compact Bengaluru Home spatial relief on the vertical axis. Both the sky and natural light were made accessible from various parts of the house. Visual frames connected the inside of the Kuppuraj Residence to the outside and the large extent of the walls could be opened at the periphery to extend spaces till the edge of the site and beyond.

Built upon a 60’x50’ site, the house has five bedrooms with attached toilets, kitchen-dining, Jacuzzi deck with a fire pit, home theatre, games room, a large living room with a water body, rooftop garden and a two-car garage with a basement for domestic help and store room.

The result of is a 5200 sq ft house spread over three floors that constantly negotiates between the levels and provides visually connections between them. Much attention was given in crafting the volumes and the inter-relationship between each space. Visually connecting various levels of the residence furthered the spatial horizon and made it look roomier without visual hindrance. Double height volumes were introduced to ease tensions of small spaces and they were detailed with wood patterns and highlighted with sculptural treatment of walls.

Wood, stone, traditional textured paints, traditional artwork were all juxtaposed to create the eclectic and to blend the traditional with the contemporary to give the house a sense of warmth and create a sense of identity.

A key design element of the house was to make the periphery of the house transparent, to visually connect beyond its seams in strategic areas, to ease the internal tension of the spatially tight box. A large-sized glass was used in the compound wall almost like a display window to connect the house to the street.

The outside form was an effort to place a vibrant box at the cross-section of two streets and make it a kind of landmark in the neighborhood.