vir.mueller architects

The Defense Colony Residence

The Defense Colony Residence
© Andre J Fanthome
The Defense Colony Residence
© Andre J Fanthome

THE DEFENSE COLONY RESIDENCE

Vir.Mueller Architects

PHOTOGRAPHS
Andre J Fanthome

AREA
11000.0 m²

YEAR
2011

LOCATION
New Delhi, India

CATEGORY
Housing

Text description provided by architect.

The Defence Colony residence/ Vir.Muller architects
In the city of New Delhi, the rising price of land compels owners of private property to build to the maximum permissible envelope of the site.

The Defense Colony Residence
© Andre J Fanthome
The Defense Colony Residence
© Andre J Fanthome

The streetscape - balancing the scale between private residential buildings and public streets in the city - is rapidly diminishing.

Residential areas are overrun by masonry boxes, devoid of interface between the public and private realm. This project aspires to actively create a dynamic, visually permeable street edge.

The Defense Colony Residence
© Andre J Fanthome
The Defense Colony Residence
© Andre J Fanthome

The Defence Colony residence derives its material and tectonic vocabulary from tombs and palaces - fragments of 15th century Islamic medieval architecture - that anchor the landscape of Delhi.

Built with load-bearing masonry walls, and designed to withstand the exigencies of a Zone 4 seismic location, the residence creates its sense of architectural and urban identity by adhering to one primary material - moulded red brick.

The Defense Colony Residence
© Andre J Fanthome
The Defense Colony Residence
© Andre J Fanthome

The mass of the bricks is expressed both in the thickness of the walls, as well as in the surface articulation, keeping the house thermally temperate, and endowing it with a rich earthen hue.

Simultaneously however, the brick transforms into a veil in the screens that shade the west facade of the building.

All doors and windows, made from Teak timber sections, are hand fabricated from logs of on the site.

The Defense Colony Residence
© Andre J Fanthome
The Defense Colony Residence
© Andre J Fanthome
The Defense Colony Residence
© Andre J Fanthome

Polished marble floors reflect the light within, offering a luminous counterpoint to the masonry walls.

The architecture engages in a play of kinetic energy, allowing glimpses of the street as well as the activities within.

This is simply a hand-crafted, modern house, seeking to restore the relationship of inhabitants to their fundamental material context.

The Defense Colony Residence
© Andre J Fanthome
The Defense Colony Residence
© Andre J Fanthome


The Defense Colony Residence
© Andre J Fanthome
The Defense Colony Residence
© Andre J Fanthome
The Defense Colony Residence
© Andre J Fanthome


The Defense Colony Residence
plan 01
The Defense Colony Residence
plan 02
The Defense Colony Residence
plan 03
The Defense Colony Residence
plan 04


The Defense Colony Residence
section 01
The Defense Colony Residence
section 02
The Defense Colony Residence
section 03
The Defense Colony Residence
section 04
The Defense Colony Residence
elevation

vir.mueller architects
T +91 11 26499992
vir.mueller architects
498, Asian Games Village Complex, Siri Fort, New Delhi, Delhi 110049