Refined & Revitalised

R+R Architects rejuvenate an existing villa in Ahmedabad by adding strategic extensions to its footprint and applying materials as chromatic and textural expanses

- RUPALI SEBASTIAN

The only constant is change. A pre-Socratic statement whose relevancy, ironically, hasn’t changed from the time it was articulated some 2,500 years ago. Nothing, it says, is permanent, stable or constant. And when you extrapolate this statement to spaces of human habitation — manifestations of personalities are so deeply linked to occupants and their changing needs — it is not surprising that they, too, need to be updated from time to time. It was at this juncture that a family of five found itself when they started considering the idea of renovating their ground-plus-two, four-bedroom villa in Thaltej, Ahmedabad. Fortunately, they didn’t have to look afar for partners who’d help them in this process. They saw what Ahmedabad-based design firm R+R Architects had done for one of their relatives, and the work resonated with them — especially, and curiously enough, the application of (the material) White Ash veneer therein. Getting R+R Architects on board for their home was a matter of quick action, accompanied by a brief that asked for an extensive use of White Ash veneer, and a home that was cohesive, yet included spaces with individual identities.