Lenka House

Shamanth Patil J.

• Architects

In this Bengaluru home, located in an exclusive gated community in the eastern part of the city, our first impulse was to respond to the leafy neighbourhood, especially the row of majestic Kadamba fruit trees on the road that flanks its north entrance.

photo_credit Shamanth Patil J. — Shamanth Patil J.

We were keen on a vocabulary of natural materials and an architectural expression that would gently step up from the street. The 100 ft long north boundary wall takes the form of a stone Jaali, crafted entirely out of local Sadharhalli stone by skilled masons. It is a contemporary reference to the liberal use of this stone as means of securing land in rural Karnataka. The repetitive vertical pieces of stone interlock into horizontal bands with tongue and groove joinery and an absence of mortar, referencing the age-old traditional techniques of stone building in the region. A central entrance portal with a yellow door and polished cement surround punctuates the Jaali and guides one into an entrance court and then to the main door.

The House is clad partially with beige coloured clay bricks that reinforce certain features and provide thermal insulation as well as low maintenance. Its U-shape orientation is towards an east garden which bathes the house with gentle morning light. Spatially, the ground floor houses a double height living room, bar and dining area, kitchen, AV room as well as two bedrooms . The public areas spill out into generous verandas that interact with the east garden. On the first floor, 2 additional bedrooms, a study as well as a family room also visually open up into the same garden.

Certain areas like the living, family room, guest bedroom and AV room have pitched sloped roofs while the rest are flat. The materiality is an interplay between brick and plastered white walls, river finished Kota and beige marble floors, timber clad and polished cement ceilings.

The garden is dotted with sculpture as well as existing trees, strategically placed at certain focal points. As one enters the foyer, you are greeted by a Dimpy Menon bronze sculpture precariously and energetically balancing on a stone sphere. The human sculpture seemingly floats atop a water feature and is bathed in light from a circular skylight atop it. At the southern end of the property, an imposing Willow tree is accommodated in the building design, creating a side court and reinforcing the omnipresent green around the site.