"The Stone, beneath the sky, stood cold, between the runes, a vapour strolled, a cloak of fleecy fog consoled" - The Quest, Terry O`LearyThis second home has a rather peculiar story. Spasm was commissioned to demolish an existing structure, which was deemed structurally unfit for occupation, and build a new home on the same site. An in depth study, prompted us to reimagine the idea of occupying the site. Many radical strategies were adopted. Retaining and recycling the debris of the demolished building as a mound. The sleeping spaces as an introverted assembly around existing trees on the ground level, where one descends into the coolness and comfort of the earth. The main pavilion-esque living space on the upper faces the north, overlooking the mature trees which stood on site. The pool sits at the upper level terrace and seems to rise out of the mound. The house has been imagined in Blue Gray Kotah, an Indian stone which forms the main substance of the expression. The naturalness, monolithic quality, cost, availability in different formats, and wear-worthiness of the stone led to its choice as the best defense against the harsh humidity and fierce rain that affects this region. Kotah stone is used in several forms, from fine chips, to strips, to slabs, to solid cove cut skirtings. The bath spaces are finished in white Indian Bhanswara marble. The spatial construct makes the occupation of this home about the elements. The changes in light intensity are palpable, as is the mood of the rain whether gentle or violently loud. We hope we have delivered the vessel for the family to live a life under the skies, a place to enjoy the rain, wet breezes, encounter rare bugs, a place to grab the dew laden cool grass between their toes. Gomati, is what this home is called lovingly in the memory of the client`s mother.

Gomati

 The material - Copper - in this case sheathes a ventilated facade around the home mitigating the extreme heat and increasing the life of the build immensely. An endearing exploration of spaces below, on and above ground connected by a network of courtyards from intimate to regal, the family has been so forthcoming in realizing a true piece of Architecture. This large multi-generational home occupies a lot of 2.5 acres. Spasm Design were asked to design a new way to live on the acreage in close connect with nature, such that the needs of all generations from grand children to senior family members were met. The brief was large - entailing entertainment areas, family living areas, kitchen zone, temple, gymnasium, home theatre, spa, stores, bedroom suites, and solitary and togetherness spaces. Many staff and service structures were also needed along with an extensive garage. We chose to lay out a three level home, a body that sinks in, sits on and floats over the surrounding greens. The intent being to deliver a truly contemporary modern home fully built in Indian stones, woods, plasters, metals etc. Raw, the Patination of the copper has already begun ...to serve as a marker of its age, a breathing, aging, graceful body. We enjoy the celebration of true uncoated textures of such noble materials. The body of the build is partly board planked concrete and copper. Several passive and active climatic strategies have been deployed to mitigate the searing arid heat of Ahmedabad. Roofed greens, buried program, water bodies, misting, ventilated fa&ccedil;ade, pergolas, meshes all come together to work in tandem to create a comfortable home. Several bespoke lights, furniture, objects of marbles, wood crafted furniture, handrails etc. were all developed with the craftsmen on the team. A truly satisfying experience, this build was a true collaboration of builders, engineers, landscapers, artists, craftsmen, metal forgers, fa&ccedil;ade specialists, marble sculptors, the clients and us. Light, greenery, glorious Indian stone and fine carpentry will underscore this project where we were afforded a complete Carte Blanche. We so look forward to the life of this project as it matures through the years. The greatest reward was that the family found the atmosphere conducive to living in the joint family way which is soon losing its essence in modern nuclear Indian psyche. The principal client, our patron, said, &ldquo;What more joy than to live with my sons and to see my grandchildren playing on the lawns.&rdquo; Architecture must unite family. 

Devkrushna

 Approached by a friend who represents a Minimal-window producer from Portugal, called PANORAMAH. We, were given the task of developing a sort of case study home, in the Murud region amidst a coconut grove. The windows being super high-tech and modern in their presence were meant to disappear against the verdant view. The plan evolved like a two headed worm, with the sleeping spaces in series and the higher main living and dining spaces flanking opposite ends of the series. The idea being, the tracing of a PARIKRAMA, a circum-ambulatory path, while moving from spaces, always in contact with the outside. The entire construction was planned in TILT-UP STONE slabs, hence allowing the minimal windows into cavity walls, granite 40 millimeters thick was the material of choice. STONE, has a sense of time built into it, like the GRANDFATHER of building materials. Conceived as a super modern yet ancient vessel this construct, is a simple assemblage of giant panels of glass against huge Stone slabs. A Primitive sense of dwelling pervades, as the day turns into a starry night sky and the light pours out of the glass making the stone invisible, A REVERSAL of what one perceives in the day. Once all else decays the Stones will still stand.

Parikrama House

 The patrons, for whom SPASM have designed and built two homes, come from Mandvi. The family has excelled in their business ventures and has been carrying out many philanthropic activities in and around the region. This particular project is the construction of laboratory facilities for girl students in 12th grade. The idea was, to save the one tree which stands on the very tight, difficult-to-access site. The architects saw this as a tremendous opportunity, a project where some scientific principles can be integrated into the build itself. The method of construction chosen was steel box sections as unit members all to a 1200mm grid, cut welded, and assembled after delivery to the site as a kit of parts. The labs will be column-free and the entire outer shell is thin steel framing and walls with terracotta cones, made by a local potter community. The idea is to make the labs, well-lit, yet comfortable in terms of temperature, through evaporative cooling by suspending wet Khus reed Matts and green climber screens. The Venturi effect of the breezes flowing through the terracotta cone walls will add to the natural cooling of all levels. Solar panels will produce supplemental power and hot water power for evening lighting and lab needs.   

Shri Khimji Ramdas Kanya Vidyalaya

Mandvi School

 This cruciform shaped house was evolved to house a family of six. The plot is located at Bopal (Ahmedabad) in a gated community at the end of the internal access road. The principal client is an aware individual and helped immensely in the evolution of the idea. The house is conceived as a cross with living spaces on the lower level immersed in secret garden courtyards allowing for the intimate experience of lush greenery, water bodies, rock-scapes and outdoor art. The upper level will house spaces for retiring, all to open onto green roofed terraces. The house attempts to control the micro climate so as to least depend on air-conditioning. The main material construct is quarry cut flesh colored sand stone used as stacked screens and rough pylon like walls, the material gradually gets treated and acquires a higher finish towards the inner living spaces.  

House of Secret Gardens

 The Raigadh district is dotted with Brick Kilns that form an intrinsic part of the landscape here. Our interest lay in using this image as the genesis for the house. The choice of brick was based on colour, strength, finish&hellip; Blemishes of a handmade unit were key to the overall expression. The red earth brick does not attempt to be precise, neither does it try to create patterns or ordered jaalis as commonly seen in Indian architecture, the brick is what it is, at rest &ndash; a stack, its mass concealing and revealing life within it. The sheer thickness &ndash; mass of the brick, keeps the interior spaces comfortable cool. Experience of occupation takes precedence over formal gestures. Sun, rain and wind freely enter the house and will mark it over the years. The stack will gradually get covered with luminescent moss, nature will fight its way back. Living in a country home is about witnessing this war. Frugal farm living with a series of cells linked by a generous verandah to encourage outdoor occupation. The pool becomes an oasis, its organic form evoking a watering hole with a well attached to it. This was a "design-build" assignment, our first as architects. Humble materials, well-crafted.

The Brick Kiln House

 Architecture in the tropics is about negotiating the elements. Roofs play a vital role in the defense against these elements. Built to house a premier insurance company, the project needed to express the contemporary organization with the promise of solid commitment of purpose. Our attempt was to make a strong connection with its green surroundings and to create a humane working environment for a cross cultural staff structure. The evolution of the design started with three giant concrete cabinets holding archival storage systems and services, sitting on the green and forming the principle enclosure. A blade; thin canopy, it is a contemporary interpretation of the local Makuti (thatch) roof bandas on local homes, which over-sails unequally over the glazing, responding to solar incidence. It protects the entire perimeter single glazing, allowing it to receive glare-free sunlight and also reducing energy costs. The canopy levitates and reflects light onto the surrounding landscape like a beacon. 

AON Insurance Headquarters

 A 15 storey tower in the central business district and afforded spectacular ocean views houses a single commercial establishment per floor. The tower`s body skews itself to the city-grid in consideration of solar orientation, panoramic views. The floor plates are stretched out of the tower in alternate directions to create double height outdoor terraces on the each floor. The terraces are the iconic silhouette of the tower; they allow the user to refresh and experience the tropical climes and the ocean breezes. The glazed body of the tower is protected from solar gain and glare by a second skin in the form of a stainless steel mesh with a veil like reflective presence. Solar protection will lead to 18 to 22% power saving. Service cores act as structural mass and deliver clean floor space allowing clean penetration of natural light. The base of the tower is faced in bottle green granite and the triangular shift between the tower and the city grid is occupied by a water feature which is in fact an open fire sprinkler reservoir. A 60 feet cascade will resonate and aerate this water body. 

Exim Tower

 Being the birth place and sacred hometown of the family, in Kutch &ndash; Gujarat, Mandvi holds a special place in the hearts of the clients. SPASM was already working on another project for the clients hence understanding the needs of the family was easy. Located in the inner city of Mandvi with very narrow streets, with hardly any view around, the house was visualized as an introverted object drawing light mainly from the sky.  Traditionally the houses in Mandvi have been built of load-bearing walls and timber. The choice to build out of a concrete frame was made due to seismic reasons. The studio visited many homes in the neighborhood and the resultant design seeks to replicate the sense of space, light quality, and intimacy of the homes which exist around. The body of the building is completely clad in locally procured &lsquo;KHAVDA` stone, in a worn and pitted texture, echoing the worn building bastions of what used to be a major port in Gujarat of the yesteryears. The floors in the house throughout are white &lsquo;Bhaswara` marble from neighboring Rajasthan and the walls and ceilings are seamlessly rendered in cool white lime plaster. Details such as in-wall storage units, allow for cleaner rooms and better utilization of precious little space. Thin windows with timber verticals allow light breeze and privacy while restricting sunlight. The house is self-contained and compact at the lower level as a response to Mandvi`s extreme climate while the rooftop has been treated to provide the much-needed sense of openness and release. The timber jaali wraps around the terrace to create an intimate lounging space for cool evenings, from where one may gaze out at the spectacle of the Kutch sky. The blue of the sky bleeds into the gaps between the timbers of the vertical jaali, akin to the balustrades of the neighboring homes. A short video demonstrates the cacophony of the thin, winding streets of the inner city, which is characteristic of Kutch. Arrival into the coolth of the home heightens the sense of peace and respite from the hustle and bustle around.  

Mandvi

Mandvi House

 The project is a large permanent home on what used to be the family`s farm in earlier years. The presence of more than 200 trees made siting a challenge, and none of the trees were cut. The principal materials used are rammed earth, sourced free of cost from Porbunder (Gandhi`s birthplace) and Copper in sheet form. Our clients were astute patrons who helped push the design and became involved in all choices and decisions. They handpicked the architects off the internet. Several lateral proposals and debates later, the final form of the house arrived at was a direct representation of their way of life. Specialist teams have been deployed for specific parts to achieve a building of high quality. 

Diya House

 The site and context of a 109 foot high temple shikhar prompts our design. The strategy is to evolve a building which is as INCLUSIVE in spirit and working as the eastern philosophies that will be studied here. Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism all have been rooted in India over the millennia and shaped our culture; making us unique as people. The common factor of these oldest and most refined religions is INCLUSIVITY &ndash; the ability to absorb all nuances of human nature and through clear though and conduct, delivering a true PEACE of mutual coexistence with all creatures and nature on the planet. We, choose to understand this INCLUSIVITY in all our architecture, a means to deliver true meaning to our work through understanding our specificity of context. We are born of this culture of PEACE. The architectural solution we propose, positions the CONSTRUCT of the building as a modern day KUND&hellip; A feature that has been an adjunct to temples from the early ages, where the very genesis of life was performed. The spirit of our proposal is to DIG into the earth; create a construct out of BARE BRICK ARCHES&hellip; Being a HOMAGE to the EARTH/PRITHVI. The KUND like construct will harness the RAIN water as a true stepped WELL. Pumped, filtered and used for the service of the students. The WIND catches atop the building help ventilate the construct as support to services and fresh air changes. The entire KUND construct, has a stepping surface, this surface becomes a phenomenological traversal of the levels, of time, of finding your own path&hellip; Becoming a zone encouraging the INTERFAITH&hellip; We see students and teachers meeting, congregating and interacting informally, under the SKY/AAKASH. The mystical universe&hellip; We want our building to promote a sense of wonder, a burning passion to learn the essence of these faiths keeping the AGNI of knowledge alive&hellip; Buildings with such strong, meaningful purposes as this, where the entire focus is on education, on the spirit of realizations shared by learned souls, need to be vessels of transportation, from darkness to LIGHT, from mere existence to AWARE beings; from seeing the light and progressing to ENLIGHTENMENT. The project is visualized in predominantly two materials &ndash; BRICK and CONCRETE. The bricks will be carefully chosen and possibly even collected from older buildings being demolished (recycling in the purest sense). This suggesting a RENEWAL of the old, a sort of REBIRTH of the earthen material. The LIGHT entering through the KUND FA&Ccedil;ADE will be sensed in all its variances at each level, also reflecting off the water contained by the L-shaped Kund. Light will form the central substance of the building invited in, conjured, reflected and even sensed as dark and deep shadows in spaces such as the Asana hall and Shine room. We expect the three dimensional arched arcade structures to reflect and reverberate sound of chants at a pitch and resonance bringing the users closer to the vibrations of the past knowledge they seek to uncover. 

KJ Somaiya Educational Trust Campus, Vidya Vihar

Sanskriti Vihar

 A second home on a rocky outcrop at the start of the western ghats (highlands),Khopoli, in Maharashtra, India. An area of high precipitation in the monsoons, and equal heat during the summers, the site changes remarkably from March to July, with the onset of the south westerly monsoons. Basalt the local black rock of the region is what this site was about. We chose to build the house as an accretion on this rocky basalt outcrop with the same inherent material transformed. An outgrowth which was made of a mix of water, sand, cement and the granular basalt. Concrete finely honed to serve as refuge, to face the climatic changes that the site offered. The house was conceived as a cast for human occupation, a refuge which trapped the views, the sun, the rain, the air, and became one with the cliff edge it stood on. Akin to the growth of a coral, the substance of the walls and roof dictate the experience of inhabiting the site. Stone has been used in many forms, based on use, wear, grip, texture. The dark saturated black matt-ness conjures a cool sense of refuge and calm. Photographs cannot express the sense of weight when one approaches, or the sense of release at the edge of the pool at the far end of the open terrace, the feeling of burrowing deeper enroute, past the stacked stones, to the lower bedroom. The house, a cast, an object for living, whatever you may call it, has transformed into a belvedere to minutely observe and sense the spectacle of nature, of shade as a retreat against the sharp tropical sun, the resurgence of life, a sudden BURST of green, when the hard pounding monsoon arrives, the waft of breezes filling the air with the fragrance of moist earth, the movement of stars across the very dark night skies. To heighten the drama of the the site through what we build, without building a dramatic building. 

The House Cast in Liquid Stone 

 SPASM Design is an architectural practice based in Mumbai. The Studio was established in 1995 by principals Sanjeev Panjabi (1969) and Sangeeta Merchant (1967). Educated at the Academy of Architecture, Mumbai (1987-1992) The practice is 15 people strong and is busy with the construction and design of several residential, commercial and mixed use projects in India and Tanzania (East Africa). The practice&rsquo;s early work comprised of several interior refurbishments and interventions. These ranged from a post-production studio to residences. Since the year 2000, the practice has graduated to architectural projects such as single family homes, luxury villas and commercial office towers.

SPASM Design Architects

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