The Mumbai based architectural, interior design and town planning firm Nina & Sanjay Puri Architects has designed "18 Screens" house located in Lucknow city in India.
Architect's statement: Lucknow city in India has a rich heritage with numerous buildings dating back to the 18thcentury. The site for this house lies along a busy arterial road and is on the peripheral edge of an extensive plotted development for private homes.
image © Dinesh Mehta
The house is planned alluding to the traditional Indian courtyard house in response to the climate of the location. Temperatures in the lengthy summer months are in excess of 35° C, with the sun in the southern hemisphere.
image © Dinesh Mehta
image © Dinesh Mehta
The extensive requirements of the 6 bedroom house are interspersed with sheltered open terraces and landscaped gardens around a 2 floor high naturally ventilated courtyard.
image © Dinesh Mehta
image © Dinesh Mehta
Patterned screens derived from traditional Indian architecture and the famous Lucknow 'chikan' embroidery sheath outdoor seating areas for each room on the south, west and east sides. These screens provide shelter from the sun, create different light patterns throughout the day and mitigate traffic noise from the busy arterial road on the southern side.
image © Dinesh Mehta
image © Dinesh Mehta
Large glass windows on the northern side allow indirect light to infuse the internal spaces of the house.
image © Dinesh Mehta
Varying volumetric proportions with differing sectional spaces create an individual identity to each living space with the courtyard cohesively integrating them together.
image © Dinesh Mehta
image © Dinesh Mehta
image © Dinesh Mehta
Built almost entirely in raw concrete, a natural palette of sandstone and wood with muted colors, vivid Indian art and landscape are brought together in different compositions in each of the internal volumes.
image © Dinesh Mehta
image © Dinesh Mehta
A large garden on the north penetrating up to the internal courtyard between rooms has partial shadows at most times of the day allowing it to be used in the extensive summers too.
image © Dinesh Mehta
image © Dinesh Mehta
A series of experiences are created in this house that by its design facilitates natural ventilation and sunlight within and is simultaneously contextual to the location, sun articulation, tradition, culturevand social aspects.
image © Dinesh Mehta 
image © Dinesh Mehta
image © Dinesh Mehta
image © Dinesh Mehta
image © Dinesh Mehta
image © Dinesh Mehta
image © Dinesh Mehta
image © Dinesh Mehta
Diagram
Ground Floor Plan
First Floor Plan
Section
Architect: Nina & Sanjay Puri Architects
Location: Lucknow city, India
Client: Rajesh Singh, Director, mddayalgroup@gmail.com
Project year: 2019
Area: 790 m²
Design team: Ruchika Gupta, Jinal Jain, Nivedita Raverkar, Nandita Rebello, Akanksha Singh, Swati Gadekar
Interior design Consultant: Nina & Sanjay Puri Architects
Structure Consultant: Dr. Kelkar Design Pvt. Ltd.
Landscape: Envision
Photographer: Dinesh Mehta
Costs: 3,64,286 USD
