Bright And Beautiful

At Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, stands an introverted house composed as a minimalist canvas where daylight and a restrained, earthy palette symbolise true opulence — a narrative woven by NA Architects.

Carol Ferrao

Residential design is often marked by complex briefs hidden behind seemingly simple requirements — a living area, bedroom and a couple of leisure zones. Architects Rupana Reddy and Niroop Reddy who run the Hyderabad-based firm NA Architects know what we’re talking about. Specifically, they recall a project in Hyderabad where they were to design a contemporary, multi-generational home for a client and his son’s family. “The five members planned to live in the same house and wanted individual private spaces that had to look like one independent residence,” mention the architects. Working on two different private spaces in one house was a design adventure for all involved. Additionally, the client wanted their home to have a unique attribute: not opulent or extravagant — as one would expect considering its upscale location of Jubilee Hills — but a “daylight house” with just the necessary furniture.

The site at hand was linear with a busy urban setting around it. While formulating the design, the architects responded to the crowded surroundings by creating introverted spaces that communicated with the outside world through courtyards and skylights. “This would check both the privacy factor and the client’s preference to have as much daylight coming into the house as possible,” informs Rupana. “Since privacy was not a problem at the front of the house, we added double height glass as a finishing touch to the design concept.” Exhibiting grandeur with marked simplicity, the facade skips the use of heavy elements and instead is functional and maintenancefree with a cantilevered porch and sleek, double height glass fenestrations. “The 16-foot, double height porch standing tall is a unique concept which we consider an engineer’s miracle,” highlights Niroop.