What was the brief?
The house completely, stands proudly sprawling over 6600sqft on 102545 sq ft land This beautiful residence gets its name from the river that flows behind it. As beautiful and inviting as the river is, the area behind the house was too cluttered to be made into a backyard where the residents could enjoy the beauty of the river. But every house needs an open space.
It has to have a certain privacy. A space where the occupants can sit back and enjoy good weather days. As the North side of the house is the only side shielded from public view, we designed and built a private patio towards the North side. The house is East facing, and its South side has been built completely straight. We oriented most of the free space towards the North, and the kitchen towards the West.
As we were building over an ancestral home, the client was insistent that we give the new house some of the feeling of the ancestral house. So when designing the inside of the house, we focused on setting up the hall so as to give a feeling of space and welcome when one steps in from the verandah. The high ceiling and the glass walls give the hall a feeling of absolute elegance.
The space is tastefully designed, and split into parts. On the right, we arranged a guest hall that is formal in style. This is a space designed specifically for hosting and entertaining guests. Beyond this, separated from it by a wall, is a regal yet cozy dining space, with a glass wall that overlooks the elegant patio. The glass wall lets natural light flood in, leaving the hall well-lit for most of the day. The light helps to open up the space, and combined with the high ceiling, adds to the majesty of the house. It is a perfect place to spend an off day with family.
The brown wood that adorns the walls gives the space a coziness that comforts the residents. Next to the dining hall is a prayer room that is separated from the rest of the hall with a metallic patterned partition. The prayer hall is lined with end-to-end mats.
The ground floor houses three bedrooms, and the first floor houses two. Each bedroom is tastefully designed to be a private space that gives a sense of comfort and warmth to the occupants. The color theme in each room is different, but maintained throughout the room. The wide windows let lot of light and air in, and add to their charm.
The stairs that lead to the first floor end at yet another beautiful living room. As natural light is a theme consistent throughout the house, the upstairs living room too, has big windows and an abundance of natural light. The living space is adorned with comfortable sofas and a tea table that blend perfectly with the harmony of the rest of the room.
On the whole, Riverine residence is special in how it blends into its surroundings so harmoniously, and how it makes the most of everything the plot has to offer. With beautiful sloping roofs that can be seen rising through a thicket of trees and a splendid interior that speaks to the occupants, this house is most certainly a worthy successor to the family’s ancestral home.
What were the key challenges?
The house was to be built over the existing ancestral home. Breaking down and old but regal family hone, we had to create a new one that was soft and welcoming, but just as majestic as the old one. There were a number of challenges to this project. The first, and the foremost, was that the ancestral home was haphazardly surrounded by the homes of the other sons, and there was no proper demarcation of roadways.
We overcame this hurdle by surveying the land, and suggesting that the brothers build their houses in a cluster on either sides of a road, facing it. But once we got to work, we realized that that would make the plot too long, and not wide enough. Moreover, only one side was road-facing. To add to this, the plot was also around 8 meters lower than the road. All of these factors had to be taken into account when designing this house.
So we set out marking the plots for all the brothers’ houses and getting the lay of the land. From every angle, we wanted this project to stand out from the other houses in the region. We wanted the new house to have all the majesty of the ancestral home. The roofs and terraces have to be well treated and of the highest quality, because people would be viewing the house from the top. We planned sloped roofs and uncomplicated garden terraces, keeping in mind that the plot was below road level. As the owners are firm believers of vasthu, we had to make one side fully straight.
Material Used:
1. Facade Cladding: Brick Clading
2. Flooring: Italian Marble, Kurikkal Enterprises
3. Doors: Teak Wood, Custom Made
4. Windows: Teak Wood, Custom Made
5. Roofing: Clay Tile, TEJAS BORJA-SPAIN
6. Interior Lighting: Changi Lighting
7. Interior Furniture: Customised& Imported Furnitures
8. Wall Texture Armourcoat-Uk
