The Architect’s Home

The Architect’s Home
© Matt Harrington

The Architect’s Home

Aleeya. Design Studio

AREA
22500 Ft²

YEAR
2022

PHOTOGRAPHS
Matt Harrington

LOCATION
Karachi, Pakistan

LEAD ARCHITECT
Aleeya Khan

MANUFACTURERS
Grohe, Hitachi Air Conditioning, Cotto, Cocoon, Crestron, Dada Kitchens, Flos, Kaindl, Linea, Pierlite, Pietra Futura, Sonneman, Tostem

CATEGORY
Houses

STRUCTURE CONSULTANT
Consult Techs

CIVIL CONTRACTORS
Rehman Brothers

HVAC
Hybrid Building Solutions

HVAC
The Current

ARCHITECTS
Aleeya. Design Studio

CONSTRUCTION SUPERVISOR AND SITE ENGINEER
Umair Tufail, Azeem Khalid

ELECTRICAL CONSULTANTS
Vital Engineers

ALEEYA

The design studio has completed The Architect’s Home. Located in an upscale neighborhood of Karachi, The Architect’s Home is situated on a southwest facing 2,000 square yards lot measuring 116’-6” wide by 149’-9” deep.

The Architect’s Home
© Matt Harrington
The Architect’s Home
© Matt Harrington

As a city, Karachi is infamous for its affluent housing societies juxtaposed with underprivileged village-like communities.

The defense housing authority, where The Architect’s Home has been built consists of several neighborhoods that follow strict, antiquated by-laws created by officials several decades ago, most importantly, a 30-foot set back from the front and 10 feet from all three sides of the boundary wall, which automatically dictate the design constraints.

The Architect’s Home
© Matt Harrington
The Architect’s Home
© Matt Harrington

In a world where change is the only constant, ALEEYA. design studio is a firm driven by evolution – evolution in spaces, in materials, in objects, and in light.

The studio wants not to follow any norm, but carve its journey through thoughts, emotions, and diverse experiences.

The Architect’s Home
© Matt Harrington
The Architect’s Home
© Matt Harrington

Using design to evoke the senses, A. creates atmospheres, continuously experimenting with solid and void - a design ethos that is continuously echoed in the Architect’s Home, occupied by her and her family.

When the architect is both the client and the designer, the manifestation is an authentic, untainted vision; it is exactly what is felt in that moment of design, which gives life to something rather organic. It allows for untethered experimentation that other creative endeavors may not allow.

The Architect’s Home
© Matt Harrington
The Architect’s Home
© Matt Harrington

In a city like Karachi, cultural norms and traditional values somewhat dictate the design of homes, but in this case, the architect was keen to introduce a new aesthetic to her hometown.

Unlike the design of other houses on the street, the facade consists of slanting protruding masses cladded with French crema limestone with 7’-0” wide by 8’-0” high windows embedded in between, creating a heavy exterior structure.

The Architect’s Home
© Matt Harrington
The Architect’s Home
© Matt Harrington

This provides a level of privacy from the street and aptly conceals a 95-foot-long driveway inside the boundary wall and main gate. The idea was to screen a large, spacious, and light-filled space of living behind an all-imposing concrete structure echoing a Swiss facade.

Providing two entrances to the home, one experiences distinct atmospheres - the calm, silent pool patio giving way through a large glass pivot door; the other a 16’-0” wide by 16’-0” deep double height entrance foyer under a 16’-0” wide by 28’-0” long skylight behind a heavy 9-foot mahogany wood double door, which immediately floods the center of the house with ever-transforming light from sunrise to sunset.

The Architect’s Home
© Matt Harrington
The Architect’s Home
© Matt Harrington

The careful placement of all window openings invites the warm Karachi sun to strike through the house directly hitting structural elements and the soft materials within.

It is a common misconception that complex edges and unique curves give structures life.

The Architect’s Home
© Matt Harrington
The Architect’s Home
© Matt Harrington

Nature and light can unravel feelings and create atmospheres that awaken our senses. Through the simplest form, the most beautiful experience can emerge.

The structure of this house was designed with this thought in mind, with the intentionally large circulation spaces that create a meaningful flow throughout the house, which initiates movement within.

The Architect’s Home reveals the soul of the Architect, creating a space that is in constant evolution as the seasons change.

The Architect’s Home
© Matt Harrington
The Architect’s Home
© Matt Harrington


The Architect’s Home
Plan - Basement
The Architect’s Home
Plan - Ground Floor
The Architect’s Home
Plan - First Floor


The Architect’s Home
Section 01
The Architect’s Home
Section 02


The Architect’s Home
Front Elevation
The Architect’s Home
Right Elevation