A Piece Of Frozen Music

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A vocabulary dotted with staccatos and arpeggios certifies the delightful symphony in a space. Such is the house of Shyam and Suman Asrani designed by interior architect Riyaz Quereshi. The grammar used is small with due respect to Van de Rohe"s, “Less is More". Zoned as per the science of Vaastu the house has faces North and is entered through the East. The cuboidal farms are thus arranged to raise the south-west portion of the house.

Water enters the plot through a waterfall aside the gate and is directed towards the house along the walkway one uses to enter the building. The element repeats itself in doses of surprise in the landscape of the house. White, Black and Grey are the colors used in the building which also provides a backdrop for the greens in the garden. Once in the plot one is cordoned off from the noisy traffic from the road.

The garden uses the elements of water, wood and greens. The stark expression of the built form is made clear with solid lines in white and generously used glass. The linearity is further highlighted with vistas created from various vantage points in the house.

The entrance lobby leads into the family room on the north, the drawing room on the west and the dining to the south. The white of the composite marble on the floor, the smooth wall paint and the light fixtures is stunning. The family room and the drawing room overlook the garden with floor to floor fixed glass. Dressed in white is the family room while the drawing has hints of color. The dimension of height in the interior of the building is highly accented. The nonappearances of accents which are the trend of the day are explained by the architect as, “the need to create a classic contemporary building which is timeless".

Wooden frames and members are done away with aluminum holdings in use. Wood veneer is used to clad the interior walls and glass is used in ample amounts as walls or furniture. The cutouts and framed views of the landscaped garden are itself the aesthetic artistic elements in the house. The dining is joined by an open kitchen which is tiered by another two kitchens. The concept is interesting. The other two kitchens used for the daily humdrum of cooking and for party cooking.

The house is automated and a specially commissioned light fitting is seen all over the house. The fitting is from Belgium and is set with both uplighting and downlighting. The fixture comprises of three sets of four lights each and uplighters above them. The color of the light in the uplighters can be adjusted thereby setting the mood of a space. The other light fittings are mostly floor held and shaded by interesting shapes and designs.

The command over the language of the materials used is what creates the stunning effect. Gandur stone is used to clad some of the interior walls. The normally dull grayish stone springs to life when coated with paint. Similarly gravel is used on the floor to create interesting flooring and also at the same time reflects the clad gray walls. Bush-hammered textured gray marble is clad onto the walls in the drawing room. An element of design totally done away with in the house is skirting. The clad walls don"t exactly need a skirting while the painted walls mostly terminate in the gravel on the flooring.

Newer concepts used in the house are those of the location of the bath tub. The guest room sees the bold positioning of the whirlpool in the room itself. The younger daughter"s bedroom on the first level has the tub placed with a skylight above and greens strategically located. The other two bedrooms are elegant and simple in form. Glass when used in the south-west region of the house is double glazed subdue the effects of the sun.

The big ideas are the connections provided in the house and the attempt to create a strong interior space quality. The water body encircling the house in the landscape is marked by the absence of blue tiles. The idea is to accentuate the effect of water in a pond with fishes and lotuses. The walkway into the house is fabricated with wood separated by grooves that drain out water. The entrance way to the house is a bridge through the water way. Every angle in the house results in a generation of interest in the house. Sheer curtains are used to curtail sun from the extensive glass usage. The house sees the novel use of simple materials and is fixed with high-end ware. The designer has paid special attention to the lighting in the house. Lighting has a knack of turning a drab building too into a delightful one. In this case it transforms a delightful building into an astounding one. No wonder the house owners are proud of their marvelous home.

Linearity is a rare thing and when supplemented by vantage views it certainly composes a classic regal within the terms of contemporary. Music was never better orchestrated.