Located within the explosively expanding metropolitan area of Gurgaon, the project was conceived on two levels:  vertical stratification for privacy requirements and a building well integrated with a private landscape at several levels. 

The site for the project is a plot within a line of row houses. The client requested a modern, open house where they wanted to live for at least 20 years.  A conscious decision was taken early in the project to refrain from constructing to the maximum legal limit to allow for more open space within the plot.

The building was conceived as a partially sunken mass which opens into sub-ground landscapes on three sides. Terraced open stairs connect the upper ground level with the lower ground on all three sides. The internal vertical circulation was designed as three separate linear elements which individually visually connect to the outside, negating the traditional ‘closed dog-leg stair,’ directing visitors to experience the house completely. Thus the house connects at all levels with the outside.

The lower ground level is a partially public space, designed for flexibility, allowing the house to be opened front to back during large gatherings or parties. The upper ground level is an open space which longitudinally spans the house, terminating in an open kitchen which floats above the rear landscape.  The private bedrooms were located on the first floor level.

Several studies were done for claddings and facades to create a house which slowly but dynamically changes and ‘grows’ with the changing seasons and passing years – a house for a lifetime.