The House by the Trees / Modo Designs

The House by the Trees / Modo Designs

The House by the Trees  / Modo Designs - Image 2 of 16The House by the Trees  / Modo Designs - Image 3 of 16The House by the Trees  / Modo Designs - Image 4 of 16The House by the Trees  / Modo Designs - Image 5 of 16The House by the Trees  / Modo Designs - More Images+ 11

Ahmedabad, India
  • Architects: Modo Designs
  • Area Area of this architecture project Area:  3600 ft²
  • Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2016
  • Photographs
    Photographs:Monika Sathe
  • Manufacturers Brands with products used in this architecture project
    Manufacturers:  D Décor, Fab India, Kohler, Legrand / Bticino
  • Architect In Charge: Arpan Shah
  • Project Team: Neel Patel, Ronak Sheth, Rajvi Prajapati
  • Structural Consultants: 912 consultants
  • Contractor: Suketu Shah
  • City: Ahmedabad
  • Country: India
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The House by the Trees  / Modo Designs - Image 5 of 16
© Monika Sathe

Text description provided by the architects. The ‘House by the Trees’ is a gathering and retreat place for a Gujarati family on the outskirts of Ahmedabad set amidst the existing neem, chikoo and amla trees. The brief given was to have a spacious and open place yet addressing security concerns.

The House by the Trees  / Modo Designs - Image 2 of 16
© Monika Sathe

Our primary concern was to weave the house layout with the existing trees, resulting in some trees within the house courts and some trees along its edge and thus random location of existing trees defined the extents of the house. 

The House by the Trees  / Modo Designs - Image 14 of 16
Floor Plan
The House by the Trees  / Modo Designs - Image 10 of 16
© Monika Sathe

The house is a two-bay plan with the front bay having the semi-open entry porch and vestibule and a guest bedroom adjoining it. A linear courtyard segregates the front bay from the rear one enhancing the sense of openness from the enclosed spaces. The rear bay has the living, dining and kitchen on one side and the master bedroom on the other side with a semi-open lounge that separates these zones in the rear bay. A 12’ cantilevered verandah hovers on the north side as an extension to the living and master bedroom and along the existing line of neem trees.

The House by the Trees  / Modo Designs - Image 13 of 16
© Monika Sathe

The semi-open vestibule and lounge connects the house with the courtyard and garden beyond making the house a seamless place. This connected area can transform at night when the sliding ms grill disconnects the outer area from the internal spaces making it an introverted secured place.

The House by the Trees  / Modo Designs - Image 9 of 16
© Monika Sathe
The House by the Trees  / Modo Designs - Image 15 of 16
Sections
The House by the Trees  / Modo Designs - Image 4 of 16
© Monika Sathe

The house uses natural materials and finishes to evoke a raw informal place. The floor has rough kadappa in interior areas and river-washed black granite in semi-open areas while the courtyard has rough brown kotah stone. All ceilings are exposed concrete finished and door windows are made of valsadi wood. The customized furniture is made of old reclaimed valsadi wood.

The House by the Trees  / Modo Designs - Image 3 of 16
© Monika Sathe

Originally published on June 27, 2017. 

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Cite: "The House by the Trees / Modo Designs" 28 Jul 2021. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/874344/the-house-by-the-trees-modo-designs> ISSN 0719-8884

© Monika Sathe

树木归所 / MODO Designs

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