Excerpt: Prairie House by Arch.lab depicts a fusion of the clients’ lifestyle requirements shaped through design ideology. Three distinct volumes house separate yet integrated spaces for each generation, connected through courtyards, terraces, and outdoor areas. Shelter is expressed as large overhangs complementing existing trees, while stone, brick, and wood create an earthy, contemporary vibe that unifies form, function, and nature.
Project Description
[Text as submitted by architect] The house is largely depicting a fusion of the clients lifestyle requirements shaped through the design ideology. The clients were a family consisting of three generations (a couple, their parents and two children) with a simple brief of wanting to be on the same level so that they would be around the young kids and have spaces to entertain their guests additionally. This meant to have distinct spaces for each generation and yet, integrating them on the same level inside, as well as with the outdoor spaces. Here, we re-interpret the perception of courtyards, basements and shelter. The idea of shelter has been translated as large overhang, trying to complement and extend to the shelter of the existing trees on site.
The conceptual start was to represent each space as an individual volume and each volume distinct. The design outcome is a play of three distinct blocks, each with an inside out representation of function through materials namely stone and brick. There are two courtyards, one at the basement level and one at ground.
Spatially, the functions are organized as formal and informal spaces on the ground. At the entrance, the first focal point is a strategically placed water body extending out over a sunken courtyard. It screens the rear informal spaces as well as brings reflections of light into the entrance space. The common spaces are in one bay and bedrooms in another. Each bedroom has access to an open space – parent’s room has the front yard, kid’s room has the second courtyard, and master bedroom has the backyard. There is a straight flight staircase in the central space that highlights the linearity of the circulation space.
Basement sunken courtyard is placed designed for access to light, air as well as access to outdoor greens making the a gym, home theatre, pool table (recreation) and small living space more breathable. A connection through the extended steps access to ground floor outdoor spaces and makes one continuous space for hosting get-togethers and events.
The first floor has a room for kids for future use and a guest room. The second floor houses the servant’s quarter at the rear and considering the site is a corner plot, they have an independent entry on the ground from the side with access from the rear. Living spaces have been provided on the first floor as well that opens onto a terrace with an overhang. This overhang covers all the terraces as a unifying element.
The result is intersecting volumes that have been humbled into the earth and wrapped in brick and stone for both an earthy and contemporary vibe, with a shelter in wood floating above that brings out the warmth of an abode.
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