The
Bagtani Haus located on the outskirts of Gandhinagar, was designed in 2007 and
constructed in 2008. The key points of client brief were a high plinth since
the plot was at a much lower level than the road, incorporating a suitable
quarter for a live in man-servant and his family and spaces suited for
activities of a socially active retired bachelor.
Since the
plinth was taken up by almost 9', a part of the space below was planned
efficiently as a garage with a direct entry to the staircase. The ground all
around in the margin was raised to almost plinth level to have landscaped
spaces that an older person will have no trouble walking out to. The house plan
was arranged on a clean rectangular grid giving rise to clear demarcated spaces
even though the living-dining spaces are designed as contiguous. As an aesthetic statement the strict grid of
the plan was reflected in the third dimension to achieve an emphatic form in
the front, which was then contrasted at the rear of the house which faced a
garden.