Architecture and House Plans for Mrs. Lakshmi, Bangalore

[kavi77]

Residential home designed for Mrs. Lakshmi, Bangalore

Background:
1. Family of 3, consisting of self, husband & daughter.
2. Well educated, well informed and widely traveled. Husband being a professor at IIM and Mrs. Lakshmi being a school teacher in the renowned Delhi Public School.
3. Very social by nature having strong familial ties
4. Architecture and interior design of the house plan to be made considering frequentl inflow of friends & relatives
5. Yet provide each family member private space to unwind to pursue their own interests

Client’s requirements:
1. A contemporary home design with new architectural concepts
2. Attached bath, sit-outs, barbecue space and servant’s living unit
3. A 3 bedroom duplex residence with attached study for their daughter’s room
Architect’s challenges:
1. South Facing site of size 40’ x 50’
2. Narrow access road posing limitations to visibility of the home
3. Massive houses in excess of 30’ height surrounding the plot on east, north & west
4. Close proximity of northern and eastern neighbors requiring smart design strategy
5. Architecture and house plan façade design to be as per Vaastu

Principles of Vaastu Shastra:
Vastu Shastra (vāstu śāstra, also Vastu Veda, "science of construction", "architecture") is a traditional Hindu system of design based on directional alignments. It is primarily applied in Hindu architecture, especially for Hindu temples, although it covers other applications, including poetry, dance, sculpture, etc. The foundation of Vastu is traditionally ascribed to the mythical sage Mamuni Mayan.
While Vastu had long been essentially restricted to temple architecture, there has been a revival in India in recent decades, notably under the influence of V. Ganapati Sthapati of Chennai, Tamil Nadu (b. 1927), who has been campaigning for a restoration of the tradition in modern Indian society since the 1960s. Source: Wikipedia.org

Here are some prominent vaastu guidelines:
Vastu kitchen: Right place is the south-east corner or an alternative is the north-west corner
Vastu for Bedroom: The right direction to set your master bedroom is on south-west
Vastu for Bathroom: The best location for bathroom is the eastern part of the home.

General vastu tips:
1. Design house to admit bright light into the main doorway
2. Plan house to allow 5 doors with maximum opening
3. Keep corners of the home bright
4. Design bedroom where wind blows from south to west
5. Windows should open out
6. House architecture and designs to avoid: oval, circular, or triangle
7. House should never be disturbed by obstructive buildings

Ashwin Architects designed this house layout to successfully incorporate all these challenges and requirements of the client. Even the color scheme was experimented with as it was found too drastic for this architect’s comfort on the model itself. However, the architect and his team arrived at the conclusion that because the model was very crude, the colors were not in harmony. Hence, extra care was taken at the time of plastering to get exact plumb levels, true walls & perfect right angles & edges as the façade depended heavily on the skill of the masons.
That’s called architectural design and implementation to the T. And needles to say, the new home and residence of Mrs. Lakshmi is looking fabulous.