Kukreti's House, Noida

As the owners presently stay in London, the brief was to build a house within optimum costs, but at the same time, it should be enticing enough for a tenant to enjoy it and, in case, they plan to come back, for them to occupy it immediately. Apart from the costs, the house should require the minimum maintenance possible. Within the constraints, the idea was to design a house staying true to the materials used in its construction and use alternative & cost-effective options rather than using cheap imitations of expensive materials which have flooded the market recently. Based on the concept of using materials that age well, the house was planned as an exposed brick work house accentuated with concrete bands, metal pergolas & fenestrations, which shall be painted in bright shades of turquoise blue. A modern interpretation of the traditional brick ‘jaali’ was incorporated in the design as an enclosure to the otherwise external staircase. The interior spaces were highlighted using patterned terrazzo tiles laid along with Indian marble flooring. The exposed materials lend beautiful textures and patterns to the house, at the same time, saving costs that would have to be incurred on plastering and painting these surfaces. Such kind of architecture is losing its relevance primarily as it requires much extra effort and detailing from the architect’s end, but we feel that the results are worth the effort.