When the owners of this Chennai apartment—one among four duplexes in a complex—approached Ritu.Rajiv Architects, their brief was a spacious, airy home suited to frequent entertaining, but with a touch of nostalgia. “Even though it was a brand new house, the clients wanted it to feel like it had been lived in and evolved over a period of time,” says Rajiv. “They’ve collected a lot of things on their journeys and each one had to have its place.”
Also See A Look Inside the Apartment
‘Opening up’
The three-bedroom apartment is spread across the third and fourth floors of the building. Its public areas and one bedroom are located on the upper level, with the family area (two bedrooms and a utility zone) in the lower one. The challenge for the architects lay in “opening up” a rather narrow and restricted plan in order to create a larger-looking, more airy space. “Because of the split levels, they were difficult to manage,” says Rajiv.
However, Ritu.Rajiv capitalized on the fact that there were only two apartments per floor, with the surroundings free from prying eyes: They employed plenty of glass, bringing in natural light, and added more ventilation. “All spaces have windows on both sides. There used to be a pantry, a servant’s room and similar small spaces, but we broke down a lot of walls in between,” says Rajiv.
Screening off areas
The upper level now opens into a small foyer, with the formal living area screened off by a frosted-glass panel. “We’ve used plenty of free-standing, frosted-glass panels which visually cut off spaces from each other. But the basic idea was to make everything look very light,” says Rajiv.
To the right of the foyer is the kitchen, sectioned off by another free-standing partition—this time, clad in grey veneer. Adjoining it is the dining area. “The partition helps in extending the kitchen slightly beyond what it was. And we are able to hide a freezer, a refrigerator and a fairly large water dispenser behind it,” Rajiv explains.
Beyond these common spaces, through a passageway, are the bedroom and the sleeper wood-clad patio, which can also be accessed via the living-dining area. The passageway holds a contemporary puja space: a free-standing glass box, positioned right in front of the staircase that leads to the lower level (see Decorate).
The compact staircase winds around a grey partition, peppered with family photographs—quite literally, a walk down memory lane. Stepping down, you observe a small utility area tucked under the staircase, behind the free-standing grey partition.
The bedroom on the lower level mirrors one of the upstairs bedrooms, with an attached study and sit-out. The other half of the lower floor contains the third bedroom and a lavish den.
The rustic look