Roof(s) Overhead

With multiple roofs defining the external appearance of this home in Hyderabad, Khosla Associates have juggled form and function with their customary finesse and created spaces that are at once sophisticated as well as acutely tuned in to the vagaries of the tropical climate.

- Devyani Jayakar

Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad may perhaps be better known for its ‘have money, will spend’ syndrome, rather than any kind of circumspection in architectural design. Amidst all the ‘bigger, better’ ostentation, architects Sandeep Khosla and Amaresh Anand of Khosla Associates stepped in with a contextual design for a home, sans any bling.

“The clients, a young couple, shared our empathy towards local materials, wellcrafted spaces and the tropical sensibility of our designs. However, in addition to the understated elegance, they wanted an iconic home which would be a kind of landmark in the locality,” says Sandeep. This, the roofs have achieved, with their sculpturesque, sweeping assemblage.

Visible from the road, they are vast cantilevered forms which combat the fierce sun, carefully staggered upwards from the road to cover two levels of the home. “These timber-clad trapezoidal roof forms hover above the living room, master bedroom, children’s room and study. The difference between the slope of one roof and another creates visual playfulness in the elevations,” says Amaresh.

The spatial layout maximises the use of the linear site by dispersing the built form and greenery in equal measure along its length. Public spaces such as living, study, dining, puja, kitchen, guest room and home theatre are housed on the ground floor while the first floor has a master bedroom, two children’s rooms and a family area.