House of Gardens immerses architecture in Indian nature
House of Gardens by Kanan Modi was conceived as a home among nature, and is the Hyderabad base of an artist and her family
House of Gardens celebrates the marriage of architecture and nature. Designed by Indian architect Kanan Modi, a 2022 Wallpaper* Architects Directory participant, the expansive residence, set in the city of Hyderabad, is the home of an artist and her family; and as its name suggests, it was conceived as an architectural entity surrounded by a series of gardens.
House of Gardens by Kanan Modi
The layout and overall volume arrangement at House of Gardens was heavily dictated by the owners' need to stay in contact with nature, and the green element their home is immersed in. Any enclosed and semi-open-air space feels engulfed in nature through the various gardens of different sizes that dot the plot.
This relationship between natural and manmade context began from the very start of the project – both conceptually and physically, as one enters the home.
'The very first garden we wanted to create was in the front yard of the house, which is located on a busy street. We created a large stone wall to screen off the garden from the road. This stone wall stands tall as the home’s identity and is the main visible element of the architecture from the street. The wall reduces the heat and harsh sunrays that comes in from the south [facing side] and also helped bring in beautifully diffused day-light into the family room, into which the garden opens,' Modi writes.
Large openings that draw back completely, uniting indoors and outdoors seamlessly, bring everything together. At the same time, courtyards, skylights and water features ensure that a connection with the outdoors is maintained throughout the house. This is particularly apparent at ground level, which has direct access to the gardens and where all the communal areas are located.
This approach also breaks down the overall volume of the substantial home and makes each area feel intimate and cosy.
A sculptural, spiral staircase leads up to the first floor, where the bedrooms are located. This is also where the client's art studio can be found.
'Finished entirely in lime concrete, this space is designed for the studio to feel like a clean slate. To create strong dialogues between the artist, her canvas and its colours, allowing for a completely functional yet versatile environment, with plenty of diffused natural light,' Modi says.
Natural materials, such as stone and timber, are contrasted with the studio's raw concrete and complemented by furniture and objects sourced in India and abroad. '[They unite to] bring in eclectic warmth and energy into the home,' the architect concludes.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture Editor at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018) and Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020).
-
Rado’s ceramic watches take inspiration from the world’s great gardens
New additions to the Rado True Thinline watch collection reinterpret exotic plants
By Hannah Silver • Published
-
‘Meaningful disruption’: Heron Preston launches L.E.D. Studio, a convention-defying creative hub
Part art and design studio, part sustainability practice, Heron Preston’s L.E.D. Studio builds on the world he has built at his eponymous New York City-based fashion label. Here, he tells Wallpaper* more
By Pei-Ru Keh • Published
-
Exploring Punta del Este, the southern hemisphere’s hub for art and relaxation
Punta del Este offers everything, from party to relaxation; all enveloped in idyllic countryside and a rich cultural offering
By Rainbow Nelson • Published
-
This Ahmedabad house blends geometric concrete and verdant trees
This concrete Ahmedabad house, Trees Sliced Through by Matharoo Associates, is designed around its site's existing trees
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Museum of Art and Photography in Bangalore aims to democratise art and culture
MAP, the Museum of Art and Photography in Bangalore by Mathew & Ghosh Architects, shines a new light on Indian art and culture
By Vaishnavi Nayel Talawadekar • Published
-
Multigenerational homes for family get-togethers
Multigenerational homes make the perfect setting for extended families to come together – in daily life and for special occasions, such as the recent Lunar New Year
By Shiori Kanazawa • Published
-
Anupama Kundoo on Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi’s legacy
Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi's recent passing shook the global architecture community; here, leading Indian architect Anupama Kundoo looks back at his legacy
By Anupama Kundoo • Published
-
Mumbai apartment by Rajiv Saini is the perfect Malabar Hill bolthole
A Mumbai apartment designed by Rajiv Saini blends indoors and outdoors at the top of a Malabar Hill block
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
In memoriam: Balkrishna V Doshi (1927 – 2023)
Balkrishna V Doshi, one of India’s preeminent architects and the world’s greatest modernists, has died at the age of 95. To honour his memory, we revisit a story from the Wallpaper* archives
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
A Kolkata home’s cavernous interior is dominated by curves
Cavernous is a Kolkata home by Nitin Barchha and Pooja Bihani designed around its curves
By Daven Wu • Published
-
A minimalist Bengaluru home behind a red terracotta screen
House on 46 by Kumar La Noce is a multigenerational Bengaluru home tucked away behind a terracotta screen
By Ellie Stathaki • Published