SURPRISE HOUSE
Specialist Design Team : Ar. Charu Gupta, Ritika Singh
Jalandhar is a unique town in northern Punjab. While a quick google search will tell you all about the cuisine and culture and history, what is not-apparent at first glance is the changing socio-cultural landscape of the city. The Aggarwal House, located in a quaint gully of old town, Jalandhar, stands as an edifice in an otherwise modest neighbourhood. It is an example of a new generation and changing attitudes that are making way in old Jalandhar. The aspirations of the generation that grew up in a globalised democracy, manifest themselves in the modern edifice that is the Aggarwal House. Navigating a settlement that was intended for community living and joint families, the architecture of the house strives towards accommodating changing family structures and the emergent nuclear family pattern.
The occupants of the house are a young couple with their two daughters and a son. Amidst old colonial architecture, the house establishes a vocabulary of its own. Inspired in part by the occupants of the house and in part by international travels, the architects create a house that is flamboyant, luxurious, stylish, yet grounded in reality and responsive to its context. One of the prime examples of this is its response to the old town morphology. An interesting characteristic of old Jalandhar are its “surprise spaces” or the little open spaces one stumbles upon while walking through the narrow lanes. These multifarious surprise spaces are responsible for light and ventilation in surrounding houses, community activities, games, evening tea and a plethora of other things. Located at the curb of one of these surprise spaces, the Aggarwal House not only utilises its traditional characteristics, but enhances this surprise element through its outlandish form. As one turns the corner, one is literally “surprised” by what one sees. The “wow” factor is further drawn on as an element of surprise and continued through the house as well.
Info
- CLIENT: MR ASHWANI
- LOCATION: LAXMIPURA, JALANDHAR
- BUILT UP AREA: 4978 SQ. FEET
