This leisure space in Hyderabad takes the definition of a bachelor pad to a whole new level

This swanky creation by Merge Design Studios reflects the owners interest in supercars, art and sports.

Curated by: Rupali Sebastian
Photographs: Ricken Desai; courtesy Merge Design Studios

The site

The site was an existing structure in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, which was constructed initially for a residence around six years ago. The basement floor was redesigned into a bachelor pad.

The brief

The client, a supercars, sports and art fanatic, wanted a space to get back to after a day’s work. He also needed a personal space to host small, intimate gatherings on weekends.

The design intent

“Our main idea behind this project was to create a space timeless enough to match the changing tastes of the client,” reveal Pooja Shetty and Mohammed Sajid Khan of Merge Design Studios. “We’ve seen quite a lot of supercar garages and bachelor pads until now, so we decided to take this one on to create something one hasn’t seen yet!”

The civil intervention

Considering this was an old existing structure, which was originally built for a residential purpose, the team had to bring down quite a lot of walls, opening up the entire basement into one seamless interactive space. “Starting from the deck area, which was initially a huge sheet rock filled low lying area that accumulated run-off water from the neighbouring plots to the outdoor parking near the main entrance, every had to be recaliberated,” says the duo. If opening up closed spaces into one huge open area was one matter of concern, the other major was dealing with multiple structural elements in every nook and corner of the plot.

The spatial modulation

The team used the level differences in the flooring to divide the space visually into two: one, a tailor-made supercar garage, and the other, a personal lounge with a bar, a snooker table and a high table to host card games. “Our favourite space in the entire project would undoubtedly be the snooker table area, which affords almost a full view of the floor at one go, with all those supercars parked on one side, the lounge and the outdoor deck!” Near the garage, a display unit showcases car parts, and alongside it is a mirror-backed, glass-fronted accessories unit specifically designed to house the scaled models of the cars and other artefacts. On the outside, the team created a deck area with a bar counter and fixed seating to enjoy the view through the glass ceiling. The rocky walls of this area were softened with plantation and uplighted, lending a dramatic feel to an already striking space.

The lighting strategy

“A space like this would have its heart in the lighting, which plays a major role in enhancing the textures and bringing out the apt vibe,” say the architects. “We highlighted the entrance driveway in sleek linear lighting running from the walls to the ceiling on a framework of beams and columns, some of which was fake, we created to match the existing ones. The car garage has hanging tubes forming a parametric form, which, in turn, acts as a design element highlighting the supercars.

The material and colour palette

The narrative was kept grounded with a monochrome colour scheme to allow the car collection and art to stand out. The flooring of the interior spaces is lined in granite (keeping in mind the automobile traffic), while the outdoors sport a combination of shell white and steel grey granite. The ceiling, walls and columns are treated in natural concrete textures. These grey expanses are peppered with colourful customised artworks, which are again inspired by the special interests of the client. For instance, one depicts a scene from the Breaking Bad series, while another is an abstract of Messi. A huge canvas painting of Michael Schumacher draws the eye in the parking lot. All the outdoor spaces have been treated in natural stone cladding.

The highlights

“The swanky bar, as we call it, is definitely one of the most striking parts for us,” the architects declare. “It is an unassuming space which opens up into a unique bar filled with character… It acts as an element of surprise. The classic black veneer storage with gold countertop and background with sleek lighting compliments the bottles. It definitely is a treat for connoisseurs!”