Farm House In Ahmedabad Design By VPA Archtects #farmhouse

An abode to humans and birds alike, Kalrao house translates into a house of chirping birds which is placed in a thicket of existing trees and newly-sept plantations. Hi, I'm architect Ronak Patel from VPE Architects. Today we are at Kalrao house and we will be discussing this 5600 square feet villa At VPE Architects, we are in constant search of amalgamation of architecture, interior and landscape and seamlessly blending all three together in all our villas. That is a constant search that we are thriving at. Kalrao Villa isn't just built for people, it's made for nature too. Set in the middle of trees, both old and new, Kalrao opens up to the east, shaped like a bird in flight. Our goal was to keep the footprint minimal and let the house blend into its surroundings. When we look at the site orientation, parking is placed in the front area, the north is towards the right. There are two entries into the house, one is from the this part and other entry is from the parking side. Glass plays a huge role here. It is because of the existing site conditions that we had opportunity in this villa to provide the amount of glass which is added in the villa. But looking at the existing thick canopies of greens that we already had, we had just merged the villa right into the green thicket that was already existing on site, which allowed us the use of glass on the east side, especially which opens up and blends to the nature, blending it very well into the house. It is just merged completely into the nature. When we look at the built part or the footprint, that becomes the footprint of the house, more hierarchical in an ascending order. There is one small gazebo in the garden area and there is one stage in the gardens. Rest everything is covered within the green thick green areas. Also on the east facade, when we look at the glass, the sunlight from the morning it penetrates right into the house. And if we look at the materials on the east side, it is mainly exposed RCC, the lime wash plaster that we have used and the glass facade. So when we look at the living room, it is kind of floating, it has water bolly all around it and it is also separated from the house. So it becomes like an island of a sitting area and it is also surrounded with green all around it because it is placed right in the center of existing plantations. So the green actually becomes the backdrop to the entire sitting area. There is an island here which is created for the existing trees again right into the water body and that becomes the water area. As we walk ahead of the living room, the central space of the house is the stair which is enclosed in the double height area. The stair also houses the landscape courtyard and which has an open mandir. The divine space is not enclosed into a confined space but it is left open right in the center of the house. And in the central double height space on the right and the left, there are dining and kitchen areas on one side and other side it houses the bedroom on the ground floor. The use of the glass in the living room, it was actually to merge it with the landscape around it. As I mentioned that we had already full grown mature trees all around it, they itself behave like a curtain to the glass. So it was actually a shade to the direct sunlight that we had in the space. So that allowed us to keep it open and blend it very much to the surrounding landscape areas. The central staircase is the main connection between the ground and the first floor. It connects the house on lower and upper floors and the first floor it houses two main master bedrooms. They have wings on either side. Also when we look at the bedroom spaces, the roof is done in such a way which is floating. So you actually have the view of sky, the landscape around you again with big panoramic glasses on both sides. We have the green scapes around the bedroom, a clear view to the sky and stars in the evening and night times. And it is almost roofless when you are in that space. So the glass which is used for villa, it is a clear glass that we have used. We did not wanted any reflective surface because we wanted a clear vision to the outside and inside as well. And it is a laminated glass. It is a double glass with lamination in center. That's the glass we have opted for. We have also not cut down any existing trees. In fact the planning is done around it. So there are no trees which have been cut off. Even there are a lot many trees which are added to the villa. The villa is also placed in such a way that we have a cross ventilation around the whole house. So all the spaces they are very much cross ventilated when the windows are opened. Even there is no paint which has gone in. It is all lime which is used inside and outside as well. It is a pigmented lime plaster which is applied overall to the house. And wherever the concrete is used, it is kept exposed concrete. So there are no further finishes which are applied to it. We have created the entrance journey. So you walk in through the landscape and then you arrive to the entry pavilion where the garden opens up, the house opens up. But the house is not visible from the garden area due to the thick plantations all around it. But once you are inside, the green becomes the backdrop. And that's the beauty of spaces within. What we envisioned or what we dreamt of, we have achieved more. Because you cannot imagine the landscape that is achieved from sitting inside that space. Because we just thought of trees when we were planning the house. But when we are inside and when we look around it, it keeps on continuously changing. Of course, the glass remains constant, not just for views or beauty, but for climate responsiveness. With thoughtful landscaping and water bodies, the glass keeps the interior bright yet cool, private yet open.