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Residence 1065 designed by Charged Voids reinterprets India’s traditional ways of living while paying homage to Chandigarh’s modernist heritage.
Curated by: Deepa Nair
Photographs: Javier Callejas; courtesy Charged Voids
The site
Designed by Charged Voids for a multi-generational family of six, Residence 1065 is located on a sprawling corner plot in Sector-27 of the Corbusian city of Chandigarh. The residence is an embodiment of the Congrès Internationaux d’Architecture Moderne, or the CIAM’s principles of modern architecture — of clean lines, no ornamentation and form following function.
The design details
The residence uses an open plan and feature facades that appear to float. The design attempts to fuse traditional spatial planning with modern aesthetics, while maintaining an optimum inflow of daylight into all the areas. The house greets visitors with its sweeping, curved concrete roof — a reinterpretation of Le Corbusier’s 1952 proposal for the Governor’s Palace. At a more eye-friendly elevation, a glass-encased, open ground-floor plan comes into view. This open plan creates an overlap between several interconnected volumes and outdoor spaces that allow for easy interaction between separate floors, complying with the highly cohesive lifestyles prevalent in multi-generational Indian families.
The design for the home is driven by intersecting axes; the major axis is planned as an anchor for the central circulation while the minor axis connects the landscaped courtyards. The overlapping volumes facilitate the residents’ movement along these two axes in a way that the spaces unfold in layers as one progresses from the public to the private areas. The common areas are enclosed in expansive glazing, in direct dialogue with the open spaces around them. The kitchen occupies the centre of the floor plan, with a collapsible partition delineating it from a courtyard. A separate spice kitchen, the formal living and dining areas, the family lounge, and a small office along with the master bedroom are configured around this area. The prayer room is contained in a white, double-height turret that lets in natural light through sharp slits in its curved walls.
Nature becomes a part of the interior spaces through multiple courtyards and terrace gardens — interpreting traditional transitional spaces like verandahs into a modern context as a byproduct of the design process. As opposed to the common areas, the private rooms in the home are treated to interact differently with the outdoors. They open onto courtyards and deep verandahs with tall sun breakers that form the front facade, granting access to the outdoors while preserving privacy. Three other bedrooms —t wo for the children and one for guests — are placed on the upper floor.
The material palette
Locally sourced brick and Corbusier’s signature cast-in-situ concrete have been used to build Residence 1065, drawing inspiration from contextually prevalent construction practices as well as the modernist vocabulary revolutionised by Le Corbusier. Through this project, Charged Voids imbibes techniques that are historically important to the city of Chandigarh but are being replaced by run-of-the-mill plastered and stone-cladded buildings — and aspires to start a dialogue on the degrading urban infrastructure and expressions of modernist architecture standing today. Corbusier’s philosophies are not just interpreted in the symbolism of modernism, but also in the architectural expression driving the larger design intent.
Fact File
Project: Residence 1065
Location: Sector 27, Chandigarh
Area: 8,998 sq ft (site) and 10,290 sq ft (built-up)
Principal architect: Aman Aggarwal
Design team: Rahul Vig and Akshat Batra
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