Baganbari
Jaipur, India
Bagan Bari, an expression in Bengali literally meaning the garden-house, signifies a place to get away from the routine.
The building type is a hybrid -- it combines a bungalow, that is a reference to the owners’ long association with such houses, with a courtyard and in turn, creates varied spatial volumes. The garden full of shrubs and trees forms the foreground through which a meandering dappled pathway leads to the house. The spaces are contiguous, yet folded and turned to make room for different activities. Simple materials like, brick and stone, are used to make the load-bearing fabric while optimising the consumption of concrete and steel. The rat-trap bond for walls and mud pots (khullar) over the roof provide adequate thermal insulation.
A winding staircase, a den on the mezzanine opening into the courtyard, stone arches, bay-windows offering seamless inside-outside experience, verandahs as transitional spaces, and an overall visual continuity encouraging the curiosity to explore spaces are some of the stand-out features. The relationship with the bagan outside is constant, but it is framed differently in different spaces to enrich the quality and way of living in this house.