Neo Classic Calcutta - Classic House Design

INTRODUCTION

KOLKATA - a city that kindles emotions associated with art, architecture, music, cinema, and food and everything connected to exquisite aspects of life, needs to be revisited to revitalize the essence in the modern era.

Neo Classic Calcutta, a classic house design, is an attempt to revive the lost charm of Calcutta Style Architecture in a world where globalization and urbanization has taken a toll on us. Restoring the essence of a theme or style takes us back to revisit the past from a new perspective.

The concoction of various Mughal and European building styles can be apparently determined from the structures in Kolkata. Amalgamation of such elements and styles has resulted in many architectural influences in various parts of Kolkata.

The colonial house was in many ways a revival style which incorporated the British style along with many elements from the Mughal architecture as well.

Project Fact File

Project Name: Neo Classic Calcutta

Design Location: Sector 47, Noida

Built up area: 8000 sq.ft.

TEAM

Design Team: Ar. Ujjwal Bansal & Ar. Nilesh Bansal

Rendering and walkthrough credits: Ar. Ujjwal Bansal

Video Credits and Voice over: Reetika Tandon

THE OLD VINTAGE MEMORIES

The old Calcutta style houses used to catch the eye by the vibrant colors used in the house exterior design with color blocking wooden louvered windows. The balconies were always an interesting space to enjoy the outdoors while being in your own person space. The birds chirping on the roof and people chattering down the street could all be heard due to the interplay of indoors and outdoors. The wooden, louvered sunshade screens in the balcony used to make the whole space look more aesthetically appealing and created interesting shadows to watch in the siesta time. Due to the hot and humid climate, cross ventilation was very necessary. The breeze when rushed from the louvered windows to one’s face would accompany a little cooling sensation which made you feel comfortable in the warm and moist outdoors.  

Revival of these elements in today’s world is relevant due to the experience and timelessness that it carries with design. Traditional house design in Calcutta would include different elements used over the time in different scenarios and by different influencers of art.

REINTERPRETATION OF OLD ELEMENTS IN MODERN ERA

The house elevation includes selective elements from the old houses of Calcutta which result in a Neo Calcutta Classical theme.

The house exterior design incorporates the following elements:

1. Balustrade and pillar/ column –The grandeur and flamboyance of this neoclassical building is seen from afar due to the balustrades, colonnades and ornamentation which take us back to the Colonial era where architecture was influenced by the Roman style. Creating a different experience with multiples terraces and balconies having different kind of railings, gives us a sense of distinguishing factor. 

2. Curved Balcony – A balcony is an addition that offers more than just an outdoor space, but also helps you connect with the outdoor in an amusing manner. The curved semi-circular balcony used in this design gives us a glimpse of the Art Deco Style which was famous during the 20th century in South Kolkata. Such kind of balcony gives a sleek rounded look to the peculiar linear shaped building

3. MS Railing and Wooden Sunshade Screen – Wooden sunshade screens in a balcony with sloping roofs are a common element seen in the houses of Old Calcutta. These kind of balconies add a character to the building and makes us urban nostalgists- people who wish to refurbish and revive the old lost charm. 

4. Louvred window and doors– Wooden doors and windows are created in a way that people can lounge in the interior and yet observe the world go by. The whole look and feel of the windows takes us back to the Classic Calcutta theme. Incorporating such a balcony, helps us to create an experience different from the regular balconies by introducing the wooden screens which

CONCLUSION

When a man reaches an age where he loses its charm to influence and slowly weathers down, we associate it with a gradual decay. The experience, memories and thought he has gained over the years makes him more relevant and beautiful in a very natural way. Similarly, when a building gets old, the paint or the walls might not have the same shine and brightness but this is a way of the building growing old gracefully and being a part of the life of the people who have lived in it.

Reminiscing the old style of architecture which was impacted by a variety of people, circumstances and style brings in nostalgia. Our aim is to create an/a assorted/distinctive and rich cultural legacy that has found articulation in its one-of-a-kind design in an urbane/modern era.

Neo Classic Calcutta is a classic house envisioned by Chaukor Studio – Architects for House Design in Noida. Chaukor Studio is a leading architecture and interior design firm in Noida . With more than 8 years of experience, Architects and Interior Designers working at the firm expertise in House Design and Office Interior Design.

Reetika Tandon, Writer

About the Author

Reetika is an intern at Chaukor Studio and loves to articulate her thoughts in form of blogs and showcase the design process in a unique manner.

Vault House , Classical house design in Noida

Embracing Architecture and Design in its Truest Form !

Vault house aims to encapsulate the essence of simple yet holistic living. The materials are used in their most exposed (unpretentious) form and structural elements are true to their functional requirements.

Vaults are one of the most ancient techniques for creating shelters. Dating back to egyptian times, vaults were one of the most fundamental forms of architecture. Truest to their form and nature, vaulted roofs throughout the architectural history have been used to shelter; from the most humble dwellings to the buildings of highest prominence. It has evolved as an element and has continued its existence throughout history by taking many shapes and forms.

Due to limited knowledge of material sciences and construction technologies, creating vaults and domes was one of the only ways to create shelters and roofing structures. However, in the modern times, with the advent of modern industrial materials it is no more a neccessity. Rather it has now evolved as a symbol of the vast Architectural Heritage. Vault house is the project that celebrates this architectural symbol in its Truest and Purest Form!

Project Details

Project : Vault House
Location : Noida
Area : 5500 sqft

Team
Design : Shubhi Agarwal, Tejeshwi
Structure : EBI India

With response to the context, the house follows a typology of a fortified unit with multiple introverted courtyards, roof-top gardens, and uninterrupted views of the sky and the raw character of brick. Rooms are made at various levels that break the physical connectivity yet visually connect its inhabitants with landscape and greens. All these approaches try to capture the fundamentals of a traditional and a holisitic way of living.

Various structural systems like vaults and domes have been incorporated using different techniques through locally available brick. These structural forms symbolize the strength and essence of simple and sensible living. The highest vaulted roof is planned centrally connecting all the habitable spaces of the house and captures all the hot air thus creating a flow of natural ventilation inside. All these elements combine to create an environment within an existing environment.

The vault house has been designed to percept certain views which the user may find relaxing. All major living spaces overlook green areas creating a continuous connect of the user to landscape and greens. Multiple vaults and does are created to capture the uninterrupted views of the sky and add an element of simplicity in the residence. These framed insights are achieved through different volumes and levels in spaces. Different kinds of skylights create fascinating shadows throughout the day and evoke the user’s experience.

Plays in volumes of the building also reach out for interesting connectivity’s within various spaces and creating multiple experiences for the user in his abode. Small terrace gardens connected to different living spaces of the house provide diversity in its kind. A barrier of privacy is maintained through a lot of greenery interwoven with the interior spaces. Intimate spaces along the bay windows look out to the immediate surroundings and provide peaceful and calm environments.

The double-heighted green courtyard space covered with a skylight forms the center of the house. By placing this atrium centrally, all other activities of the house are directly-indirectly connected to it. Thus, a main dynamic zone is created at the center of the house allowing for interaction to happen. Visual connectivity between the two floors is maintained. The vertical movement within the house revolves around the central courtyard space through inter-connected spaces. This enhances the social interaction taking place between the users.

As in the case of most urban cities, the ‘Vault House’ is a typical urban single-family residence that evolves with the inevitable agglomerations of a plotted development in the growing city of Noida. The need for land demands the plot to be peripherally surrounded by other residences, leading to a single open side connecting to a secondary lane, with no care to ensure increased visual connectivity to public spaces. Such a cloistered context creates a challenge to create an environment that restores the connectivity of the user with nature through daily activities as well as provide unique experiences through specific frame of views, play of spatial interconnectivities, private intimate spaces and juxtaposition of various materials, colors and textures.

Dating back to egyptian times, vaults were one of the most fundamental forms of architecture. Truest to their form and nature, vaulted roofs throughout the architectural history have been used to shelter; from the most humble dwellings to the buildings of highest prominence.

Vault house is the project that celebrates this architectural symbol in its simplest form and translates it into the concept of Simple yet Holistic Living!

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Minaret House , Classical house design in Noida

Reviving Classical Architecture of Indian Subcontinent !

Minaret house, Noida is designed to capture and reinterpret the traditional elements to create a distinctive identity rooted in culture and traditions.

With the onset of globalization, there has been a great exchange of technology, knowledge, art and architecture and many other disciplines. In one way this has led to greater exposure and efficiency but at the very same time, it is also the reason behind the present state of mundane monotony. Across the globe, each region had its unique culture and traditions that were formed organically over a period of centuries that gave a distinct- unique character to the people of that particular region.

With the growing exchange of information, we are constantly losing out on this distinctiveness and are choosing to create a large over-arching generic character. Architecture too went through this process of globalization and pretty much all major centers across the globe now follow a similar building standard.

Project Details

Project : Minaret House
Location : Noida
Area : 8500 sqft

Team
Design : Manisha , Shubh , Tejeshwi
Structure : EBI India

Minaret House is a residential project located in Jaypee Wishtown, Noida. This individual residence as a part of a greater exploration has tried to restore, renew and revitalize the lost wisdom of formal expressions that has been developed over centuries as an art of building. The process of regeneration in the ‘Minaret house’ through ecological and cultural means has somewhat tried to capture the essence of tradition and provide a base to imminent architecture.

In spite of being spread across three floors, the built form is fragmented and stepped to create large terraces adjoining all family areas to recapture the feeling of the ground connection. It facilitates the family to reconnect to the cultural way of always being in semi-outdoor spaces like courtyards, streets and allows them to use these spaces as an extension to the house.

The character of intimate family spaces like courtyards in traditional houses has been captured in the double height living area. All private areas of the house invariably connect both visually and audibly to this central space that ties the whole family. A large kitchen adjoining this living area further enhances its usage as the family gathering space.

Small intimate spaces with low ceiling heights, narrow entryways and small external windows are planned adjoining large family spaces and other public spaces for providing the requisite comfort , privacy and scale that exist in the traditional houses of Rajasthan. These small intimate spaces, varying in character and physical manifestation helps in retaining the feeling of intimacy at home.

A natural ventilation system has been implemented in the house with the use of a Minaret. The forced air circulation created by the Minaret lowers the indoor temperature phenomenally and helps in reducing energy loads. Wind towers have been in use for many centuries in various desert regions around the world. The Minaret (Wind Tower) has been integrated centrally with its exposed façade towards the south-west side. With this exposure the air heats up quickly inside the tower, thus forcing itself out and creating a continuous airflow inside the house. This has been used in combination with openings towards green terraces that surround the house and that towards the golf course. This creates a continuously self-existing cycle of cool and fresh air from the greens to enter in the house and ultimately pushed upwards from the wind tower. This forced air circulation created by the Minaret lowers the indoor temperature phenomenally and helps in reducing energy loads.

Minaret house is designed to capture and reinterpret the traditional elements to create a distinctive identity rooted in culture and traditions. It not only embodies the climatic principles but also the social patterns that the architectural heritage offered.

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