Residence at Aurangzeb Road

Studio Lotus was approached to convert an existing office block into a studio apartment, in a minimally invasive manner. Surrounded by beautiful landscaped gardens, the single storey structure was built in metal with a light weight roof and was glazed on three sides. The client wished to retain the uninterrupted views of the greens while still allowing him privacy when he chose it. In order to achieve this existing glazing system of uPVC sliding doors was retained. Additionally the existing office entrance through a slatted wooden portal was also retained as the main entrance to the house. This guided the zoning of the interior space.

The primary intervention was to strip the shell of all the walls and partitions in order to expose the metal structure internally and create a large open space that can serve multiple functions. A single partition, that acts as double sided storage, was introduced to divide the public area of the apartment from the bedroom. This multipurpose, partition houses all the AV equipment towards the living room, converts to a book shelf in the bedroom, and is also the primary wall in the space on which our client, an avid art collector, can showcase his collection. The door between the living room and the bedroom is a sliding folding glass partition that can be opened up to make the whole space one. The powder room, efficiently uses an oddly shaped triangular space, and is tucked away behind a panelled partition with a concealed door.

The space was conceived as a non-descript backdrop to house all the crafted inserts and the art. The few external civil walls were clad in half-cut brick and all the surfaces were painted white. Three exposed ISMB columns in the space were flamed and lacquered to add some industrial character. The client wished to keep the palette simple, with subtle art deco details and industrial elements to create contrast. Saw-cut wooden flooring, white on white panelling and delicate brass accents, all add warmth and richness to the space.

The garden facing the bedroom was enclosed to create a private step out that houses a custom designed marble Jacuzzi. The walk in closet and the en suite bathroom, also enjoy views to the private garden, and are separated from the bedroom by an intricate brass art deco inspired screen, developed and fabricated by Studio Indi. The bathroom is clad in statuario marble with a custom designed vanity carved in a block of white statuario with customised chrome fixtures. The shower sits as an insert adorned with a monochromatic marble inlay in a geometric pattern.