A hill on one side and lush spring blossom trees on the other, the house is built on a south-west corner plot with a hill on the eastern side and a famous temple beyond. It is situated in RR Nagar in Bengaluru and is a residence to a couple, their son and the grandparents.

The blooming Haus explores the style of modern minimalist architecture, designed to be a thoughtful architectural insert responding to the context. The perforated concrete panels skins the house, cutting down the glare and noise from the outdoors and framing the vistas from the patterned angular perforations inspired from the traditional Indian jails, buffered by a screen of green space. These perforations infused with sun light creates play of light and shade in the indoor spaces. The design engrosses the inclusion of the colour yellow. In the midst of the spring blossom trees at the site, is a beautiful tree full of yellow flower line. Drawing inspiration from this, the yellow colour is used to add a hint of colour to the otherwise minimalistic spaces.

Getting into the spatial planning of the house, the stilt floor accommodates a spacious car park, a maid’s room and a toilet. The setback is taken as a green buffer space that can be seen in every floor of the house. A grand entrance staircase is placed in the southeast corner, which takes one to the entrance deck. As one enters the home, they are greeted by a cascading water body, with a concrete deck floating on it, which is completed by a screen of lush greenery. A customised safety door is given after the main entrance door that ensures the house is secured completely. The ground floor accommodates the living spaces that open into the water court. On the other side it has a green screen which is partially double height and directs one to the dining and kitchen area. The TV unit is modelled using wall panels which acts as a kitchen storage from the other side while extends towards living to accommodate thin metal frames to keep collectibles. The utility is placed beyond the kitchen in order to ensure privacy for the service area. There is an open puja platform with a beautiful view of the trees outside making it look like a postcard of changing colours. The bedroom on this floor is separated from the dining space by a dual sided display unit, rather than traditional walls. The unit acts as a display and storage unit in the dining area and as wardrobes in the bedroom. The bedrooms have concrete platforms as beds, and extends on the south side to house a patch of green. The Greenery is incorporated in the bathrooms as well. The staircase leading to the first floor is accentuated with rustic concrete finish wall tile highlighted with triangular bright yellow inlays against the timber triangular interlocked treads and has an entrance to the laundry room that is concealed, thus cutting off any views to the service areas.

The next floor is dedicated to the couple with a cut out giving one a glimpse of the floor below. It also accommodates a library with a dual sided unit with a display area and bookshelf on one side and a lounge space in the master bedroom. The concrete bed opens up to the green pocket with the perforated screen beyond. The room also has a walk-in closet and a private bathroom with an internal court space to add a splash of green to this area. This floor also houses a wooden deck ideal to entertain a gathering of friends or to simply sit and relax while enjoying the view of a large tree in the indoor green pocket. This internal courtyard has a pyramid skylight above which brings in plenty of natural light throughout the day. The eastern side of this floor too houses large picture windows to frame the tranquil view of the hill.

The next floor is dedicated to their son; thus, it accommodates a large open space where he can play and socialise with his friends which can be converted into a multipurpose room at a later date. One also gets a view of the living space in the ground floor on one side and a glimpse at the green court below on the other. The bedroom is similar to the master bedroom, with a walk-in closet and bathroom on one side and a green patch and the perforated panels beyond. The filtered light that percolates through the perforations and the greenery is a true delight to watch and creates serenading patterns as the light changes through the day. The open multipurpose area has slits and perforations that light up the space while offering a view outside. As the roof slopes towards west, the terrace roof has been utilised as a Amphi Theatre. Green patches enhance the amphitheatre and it is finished in concrete contrasting with yellow texture, much like the other parts of the house. The tank room has wardrobe like units to hide away all the services thus making the entire space look pleasant and welcoming & hence use the room as spa room which opens into the OAT and the beautiful landscapes beyond it when the shutters are opened. Terrace also accommodates a open to sky Jacuzzi with a green wall on one side.

One of the key highlights of the design of this home is the lack of walls. While functional and utilitarian spaces like bathrooms, laundry rooms and other services have walls, the other spaces are differentiated using perforated concrete panels or dual sided units and storage spaces. The perforated panels that can be seen outside as the façade, are also visible from inside while they are buffered by a layer of green. This further make the space look airy and creates an aura of being outdoors. Paired with these perforated panels are large windows that offer a picturesque view of the changing landscape outside. The perforations and the openings are strategically placed in order to get the best views of the trees, the hills and the temple beyond. While the design captures the best offerings of the site, it also ensures that the inhabitants are spared from the harsh light that can be experienced in the southwest corner as the perforations are further screened by pockets of green spaces that cut down the heat and harsh light entering the indoor spaces. The design includes triangular patterns in abundance which have been adopted in varied parts of the house. Triangular pieces of leather finished Kota stone have been inlayed into the flooring guided by circulation, while it can also be seen in the wall décor, security gate design and the perforation patterns.

We started with a vision to make the most of the site and its context, and it is a delight to see that the design seamlessly brings the outdoors inside while maintaining the boundaries as desired by the client. This home is a collage of experiences orchestrated by a play of light, patterns and volumes of varying sizes.