Gauri Kelkar’s ‘20×20’: Iconic Indian homes in diverse idioms

Rajnish Wattas

The book is a lavishly illustrated compendium of select houses designed by architects both new and experienced, across the length and breadth of India, sited in diverse geographies. The rich anthology, curated by Gauri Kelkar, includes “hillside holiday homes, modern apartments in large metros, beachy villas opening out to views of the rolling surf...”, manifesting myriad architectural imaginations at work.

In any architect’s repertoire, residential design is the most challenging and most fascinating of projects. A house is many things to many people — it’s an intersection of a client’s needs, aspirations, site attributes, budget and the architect’s interpretation of these factors realised by his creativity.

Each work in this book is preceded by a short biography of the architect, followed by details of the house explained through sketches, text and photographs. Most projects are vacation houses located at scenic settings. They are free from stifling bylaws and controls, otherwise constraining creativity in urban areas. How architects turn them into opportunities is the real challenge.

The abiding influence of master architects of the 20th century is hard to miss. Many of these houses are reflections of Frank Lloyd Wright’s low-slung Prairie houses with their hallmark sweeping horizontal lines and cantilevers, such as the Robie House built at Chicago in 1909. His iconic Falling Waters house (1935) near Pittsburgh also resonates with its site and structure unity. Another visible influence is the use of large glass walls, maximising inside-outside communion, inspired by Mies van de Rohe’s Farnsworth House, located outside Chicago.

The select architects challenge their own unique imaginations, ingenuity and design sensibilities.

Located at a hill slope in Kerala, the Ledge House by boutique architectural practice Wallmakers is literally a daring cliffhanger of a house! Tucked into the hill with just its tip jutting out precariously, it demonstrates built form and nature unity.

Similarly, RMA Architects’ Three Court House at Alibaug, Maharashtra, has an introverted plan that revolves around three courtyards, separating yet connecting the distinct zones of the house. A low, sweeping horizontal skyline of the house clothed in local stone with contrasting dabs of colours punctuates the facade.

There are houses in dense urban settings, too. Matharoo Associates’ Cut Fold House is reminiscent of the beton brut concrete facades of Le Corbusier, with shuttering patterns left unpainted on the walls and ceilings. Ruggedness becomes the statement. Similarly, Black Perch House by Studio Sangath in Ahmedabad is another example of creativity in the tight city fabric. There are organic houses made with local materials and in vernacular traditions in the dry cold desert region of Ladakh by Field Architects, and by Abin Design studio in Bengal.

Finally, any anthology will remain a subjective choice of the curator. However, the discerning eye of Kelkar unearths homes to cherish. The volume would enrich both the professional architect’s library as well as that of a layman who appreciates beautiful homes.

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