H for Home

Adhering to their fundamental philosophy of creating meaningful environments, Co.lab Design Studio and its principals Hansika Jain and Vikram Bhatt realise a vision for a green-filled Surat-based home through meticulously conceptualised spaces, selection of appropriate materials and a clean execution of the overall design.

- RUPALI SEBASTIAN

Imagine a typical neighbourhood in a Tier 2 Indian city. With buildings almost huddling cheek by jowl, you couldn’t be faulted for dreaming of a home ensconced within a garden, an abode that would provide a soothing green salve for city-frayed nerves. Such was the desire of a Surat-based family, and they communicated it to their architects, Hansika Jain and Vikram Bhatt of Co.lab Design Studio. Given the density of the urban fabric and the proximity of neighbouring structures, “the need to create an inward looking house came as a reflex,” notes Hansika. “In order to create a luxurious and spacious home where the owners feel constantly connected to the outdoors, the design inverts the concept of a bungalow set in a garden by infusing gardens into the bungalow and encapsulating the natural green space within the house. These gardens give presence and meaning to the spaces which are organised as a series of courtyards designed to set up dramatic views of the immediate greenery throughout the house,” she explains, adding that the design response itself posed the challenge in this assignment. “Also due to the clients religious way of living, the connection of the outdoors to the indoors directly could not be made possible physically every time — thus arose the need of connecting it visually.”