An ascent to 403, sights a green trail of potted plants, an enlightening quote resting on a gridded shoe stand, and shadowed by a merely dancing bamboo. The embodiment of 403 lingers in this tranquil juxtaposition curated at the threshold. This ethos is not only beheld but also perceived by other faculties. Smelt in the fragrance of nightqueen flowers, heard in the soothing echoes of the windchime, and felt in the cool north – east zephyr, while unlatching the gate guarded by a kolam motif door handle. As one enters the triangulated foyer, also a primal threshold, one is greeted by the pattachitra style painting of Ganesha on one side, a small 6” peep hole towards the kitchen on the other and a door towards the studio on the opposite side. The one foot square cut out on the studio door blurs the boundary between spaces, even when closed. One is welcomed in the studio by the fluttering of the translucent curtain of kora
cotton, camouflaging with the rustic lime-sanded ceiling. It is a working office during the day and converted to a crash pad after dusk, exhibiting its versatile nature.
The studio setup accommodates four working desks, adapting to expand to the double of its capacity, when needed. It consists of an ingenious glass table, made up of repurposed glass, resting on a wooden door frame. The blended slab is supported on a sewing machine on one end and metal support on the other. Reused, rustic folding table expands the working space. The studio walls covered with soft boards are used for art-architectural scribblings, which also spills over on the bathroom door in the left corner of the room. An overloaded bookrack hides behind the door, connecting to the other half. The bathroom becomes a confidant, a quaint alcove for one having a day’s plight. The 3 feet x 5 feet space, ceiled at 10 feet blanketed with warm, yellow oxide
space, indeed makes it a picturesque bathroom. A 5 feet window, is a view gallery to the yellow gulmohar tree dancing, changing its hues throughout the seasons.
The studio extends its right arm as a flexile balcony for office for meetings, small gatherings, afternoon breaks and workshops to take place. The ambiguity of the space reflects in the material palette of it. The ivory door frame, filled by clear glass retains transparency and reclaimed wooden window shutters, horizontally hinged to metal framework, invites ambient light through its translucent glass. The iron grill used for plant holders, fruit crates for seating, a tool wall has construction tools hung up for display and use.
The house is both humanitarian and utilitarian in nature. The spaces are created in a way, which holds warmth and functions optimally . The inhabited portion of the house, embarks with a gobar wall extended into a jaali wall on one side of the passage and a scribbling wall for toddlers on the right side. Adjoining the passage lies the kitchen, nestled quietly in the southwest corner of the house. The afternoon sun comes by and greets with a warm hug, and a delightful interplay of the yellow light through the terracotta jaali blocks becomes part of the routine.
Further on as one enters the house, they are gazed by an owl, perching on the white grill of the ‘experiential balcony’ as the user and the architect of the space – Arunima Shankar, likes to call it. This space was envisioned to be another experimental nook of the house. The five white coloured surfaces – the owl grill, the french door, the white floor, wall and the ceiling contrasting with one red tinted mud wall. The alternate, linear arrangement of green and brown glass bottles sit above the lintel band. One sits in the balcony, basking in the sun, sipping coffee and beholds the same light illuminating the bottles just as fireflies in the dark night sky. The mud plastered wall adds in depth created by its natural, rough texture. A foot and half niches carved, trial patches visible on the finished wall and a white dreamcatcher swaying in the wind adds striking character to the wall
The 9 ft X 18 ft elongated living space is gushed with ambient light entering from the northern ledge of the balcony. The wall shared by the studio and the living room is precisely a spiritual corner. The adjacent wall has a 4 feet black kadappa stone slab inscribed, greets oneself with a spiritual quote and an enlightened brass lamp, placed on its ledge everyday. A 200-year old brass diya stand bows to the reposed Kali goddess painting hung on the same wall. The fragranced smoke of the samrani, spreads across the room when lit up on special occasions and cold winter days, originates from this corner. As one lingers around the room, they barely fails to gaze upon the earthen, majestic veena across the white room. The house begins to sway gracefully, upon hearing the resonant harmonious melodies of the veena, strummed by the user. The repurposed old wooden jula acts as a space connector, during a handful
of gatherings or discussion, between the extended living space and the musical corner.
The bedroom spaces are designed in a way providing flexibility to accommodate the innate nature of the user to rearrange the space as a ritual. The mobile shelves, untreated cupboards, white walls carry boundless potential in them left to be explored.As the seasons passed by, the shelves, tables and beddings grew legs too, hence demanded to retain merely the barebones of the room alone. The attached bathroom is filled with the colourful dusk, which enters through the perpendicular openings covered with stained glass paint. The balcony adjoining the bathroom is a 5 feet white cuboid, filled by the blue hue of the sky in the central patch. The balcony is predominantly for utility purposes – precisely for drying clothes
The spaces in the house are impeccably created to be equivocal and functional for its users. 403 is more than just a space, carrying the ethos of being welcoming, accommodating, simply for encompassing all those who come.It is, “ The story of who we are and the collection of what we create.” read on the entrance wall of the studio
Team Acknowledgement:
Architects: Akarmaa designs
Civil Contract:
Plumbing: Ravi and team
Painting: