Dubbed as The Floating Frame, the home enveloped by the greens is designed and owned by Rushi Shah Architects and family, who are nature lovers and wildlife photographers.
Images: Umang Shah
HOME PROFILE
The Home: The Floating Frame House
Location: Ahmedabad, India
Area: 3500 sqft
Firm Name: RSA + Tattva
Lead Architects: Rushi Shah and Vidisha Shah
Landscape Architect: Tattva Landscapes
Structural Engineer: Bhoomi Consultants
Located on the outskirts of Ahmedabad city, amidst the dense green rural area, the home belongs to a structural engineer, landscape architect, and architect. The concept was to design a home that could delight the view of both – an undivided garden and sky from major parts of the house. The key aspect of the design process was to have a material palette of exposed brick, exposed concrete, exposed steel structure, and lots of creepers and plants covering the home structure.
The rustic brick screen covering dense bamboo clusters creates a welcoming gesture with a glimpse of the farmhouse. It leads to a small carved xerophytic plant-island, which embroiders the foreground. The verandah functions as a threshold to the built form which sprawls to a living area with a brick wall backdrop facing the east sunlight. The semi-private zone with living area, dining space and kitchen is aligned on one axis. These spaces are 12 ft high, which provides a vast view of the garden along with creepers drooping from the steel canopy through full-height glass shutters.
The perpendicular axis to the semi-private zone consists of private areas which comprises of all bedrooms designed with private courts that allow morning as well as evening sunlight through retained trees. The master bedroom opens up with a view of the garden in the east and a court in the west direction. The bedroom with filtered sunlight is the perfect location for morning and evening teas and reads. The shower court with banana plants and monsteras creates a tropical aura.
The cantilevered slab and a steel canopy cuts off harsh summer light and allow penetration in winters, which also acts as a climbing element for creepers. The central verandah space is a floating platform surrounded by a lotus pond, which is connected by a wooden bridge from the dining area. Here, the family spends most of the time overlooking the soothing flora and fauna.
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