In the 80s and 90s, in Delhi, barsatis were rooftop living spaces, that, owing to their lower rents and functional living arrangements, were often occupied by struggling artists and intellectuals. W26 Barsati plays on this concept to create a whimsical, otherworldly space on the roof with a detached view of the surrounding urban fabric for a young urban couple with a budget.

Today, barsatis all over the city are vanishing and giving way to additional floors and roof gardens as changes in zoning regulations have contributed to transforming the perception of rooftops from low to high-end real estate. However, the symbolism of the barsati and what it means for the intellectual and artistic lifeblood of the city lingers. W26 barsati is an homage to the humble barsati.

Climactically, this metal frame and cement fibreboard-clad rooftop house responds to the problem of creating livable spaces with natural lighting and ventilation in every room in the heart of South Delhi’s gated colonies of rowhouses. While traditional fixes over the years for Delhi’s extreme temperature variations and, more recently, degrading air quality, consist of closing the windows, pulling down the blinds and shutting out the outdoors by means of mechanically ventilated and modulated spaces, this project aims to tackle the seemingly insurmountable challenge of how to create living spaces in the heart of Delhi that are naturally ventilated, modulate its extremes of temperature well, and create a serene oasis at the heart of a thriving, pulsating city.

The apartment is broken up into two containers of sleeping and living spaces, both of which are punctured by windows on their east and west faces, one overlooking the street outside and the other inside into the courtyard. Sliding folding doors overlooking the courtyard ensure that the entire house can be opened up to the elements and is naturally ventilated from one end to the other.The house is therefore envisioned as, in Corbusier’s words, a “machine for living” that is also uniquely a part of the urban fabric of Delhi on multiple levels.

Team:

Architect: SKDO
Senior Associate: Parvaty Balagopal
Photographer: Satyansh Singh