Framed for Effect

A beautifully defined modern built-form and an internal programme that offers edited views of the surrounding greenery give the Crest Architects-designed Framed House in Bengaluru its name.

Curated by: Rupali Sebastian
Photographs: Shamanth Patil J, courtesy Crest Architects

The frugal materiality was driven by the need for cost-effectiveness.

The site

Located within a gated community in North Bengaluru, the square-shaped plot of this residence abuts the road on southern and western sides and enjoys views of the encompassing greenery. 

The brief

Based on the client’s requirements, Crest Architects’ founders Vishwas Venkat and Vikas MV sought to design a modest house with specific emphasis on natural light and ventilation. This direction was also aligned to their philosophy, which revolves around integrating natural elements in the spatial planning and forging an interactive dialogue between the built-forms and their surrounding environments. “Our approach was to create a compact layout that accommodated the requirements of the client while also establishing a sense of spaciousness to create a balance of connectivity and privacy,” disclose the architects. 

The double-height living room flows into a single-height dining room. This play of volumes keeps the spatial experience engaging. Skylights and windows amplify the feeling.

The architecture

The modernistic architectural expression features an orchestration of cuboids of varying heights. The building form was developed as an abstraction of cubes with planes extracted along different surfaces to produce a striking structure. The vertical masses harmonize with the surrounding and articulate the function of the house creating geometric elevations.The facades are mostly clean and plain, featuring exposed concrete finish framed by white plastered walls. This, in conjunction with the slit-like windows accentuated with Sadahalli stone chajjas, give the project its name. Internally, this unfolds as a choreography of single- and double-height volumes that establish a feeling of space within and a constant connection to the outdoors through fenestration, large and small. “Restricting openings on the south-west side to avoid harsh sunlight and bringing in natural light to wash the interiors of the house was a major challenge in the design development process,” Vishwas and Vikas tell us..

The dining room, bare and beautiful, benefits from the lush views seen from the slit window.

The spatial flow

The open-floor plan consists of a living, dining, kitchen, puja and the parents’ bedroom on the ground floor, and two bedrooms and a family lounge on the first floor. The double-height living and dining spaces are opened up to get a view of the landscaped garden and glazed skylights allow ample natural light to infiltrate the open scheme of the house. The semi-open puja adjoins the dining, and has been designed with a sense of verticality to enhance the volume of the space. The solid wooden railing wrapped round the central staircase adds a dramatic effect in the interiors.

The sculptural, pleated beauty of the staircase enhances the interiors.

The materiality

“A simple material palette with grey cement textures juxtaposed against white finishes has been employed along with the use of black and grey stones to accentuate the form,” reveal the duo about the architectural material palette, adding that the choice of materials for construction was influenced by a cost effective budget. The rustic character and design language throughout the house is intended to be simple that reflects the lifestyle of the client.

Fact file

Project: Framed House
Location: Bengaluru
Area: 2,300 sq ft
Principal architects: Vishwas Venkat and Vikas MV