S+PSARCHITECTS adds recycled doors and windows to mumbai house façade

S+PSARCHITECTS adds recycled doors and windows to mumbai house façade
(above) the house façade is composed of a double height curtain wall of recycled doors and windows 
all images courtesy of sebastian zachariah, ira gosalia, photographix

when living in mumbai, india, it is impossible to ignore the informal settlements in the city, and if looked at closely, there are many lessons to be learned from frugality, adaptability, multi-tasking, resourcefulness, and ingenuity. local-based S+PSARCHITECTS have seen how a visual language emerges in found objects, ad-hoc, eclectic, patched and collaged elements. an attempt has been made here to apply some of these lessons without romanticizing or fetishizing them. the project looks at the idea of collage and recycling in several ways, from the very physical — like materials, energy, etc. to the intangible — like history, space, and memories.

a drum of stacked glass encloses a prayer room next to the blue door that marks the entrance to the house

the front façade sets the tone for what lies within, with a corner that recycles old windows and doors of demolished houses in the city. this becomes a major backdrop for the living room with an exposed concrete faceted ceiling above countered by the polished white marble with intricate brass inlay on the floor. metal pipe leftovers pieced together like bamboo form a ‘pipe wall’, integrating structural columns, rainwater down take pipes and a sculpture of spouts that in the monsoon are a delight for all the senses. in the central courtyard on one side scrap rusted metal plates are riveted together, kitsch colored tile samples retain a planter in the middle and on the third side is a wall clad in cut-waste stone slivers lifted off the back of stone cutting yards and waste generated on site. hundred-year-old columns from a dismantled house bring back memories, and nostalgia is nourished with a lightweight, steel and glass pavilion (with solar panels above) on the terrace level overlooking fabulous views down the hillside. this approach is reinforced again in the interior materials and elements. it plays up this contrast between the old and the new, the traditional and the contemporary, the rough and the finished. one finds

custom-designed and woven industrial mesh encloses the open elevator shaft that looks towards the entrance lobby

in the central courtyard on one side, scrap rusted metal plates are riveted together, kitsch colored tile samples retain a planter in the middle and on the third side is a wall clad in cut-waste stone slivers lifted off the back of stone cutting yards and waste generated on site. hundred-year-old columns from a dismantled house bring back memories, and nostalgia is nourished with a lightweight, steel and glass pavilion (with solar panels above) on the terrace level overlooking fabulous views down the hillside. this approach is reinforced again in the interior materials and elements. it plays up this contrast between the old and the new, the traditional and the contemporary, the rough and the finished. one finds the use of recycled materials like old textile blocks, flooring out of old burma teak rafters and purlins, colonial furniture, fabric waste (chindi) along with new ways of using traditional elements and materials like carved wooden moldings, beveled mirrors, heritage cement tiles, etc.

living room with the collage of recycled windows anchored by the faceted concrete slab

to build on top of a hill is always exciting until the architects discovered here that they were surrounded by neighbors on all sides. this led early on in the design process to look inwards and build around the quintessential indian courtyard, albeit slightly modified. the court has been raised a floor above the ground level and hidden below is a large rainwater harvesting tank wrapped with rock that was removed from the hillside during excavation. it is the core around which this large four-generation family is organized and comes together.

inner courtyard built over a rainwater-harvesting tank

double height slot over the lap pool has an oculus above

the exposed concrete stairwell and passage acts as a link to the two wings of the house

interrelationship between the master bedroom and study and the outdoor spaces

hundred-year-old recycled columns are used structurally to hold up a steel roof forming a pavilion

master bedroom island with faceted concrete ceiling above 

detail of the mesh lift enclosure looking towards the kitchen

project information:

location: parsik hill, belapur, navi mumbai
client: mr. bhargava
architects: s+ps architects
design team: pinkish shah, shilpa gore-shah, mayank patel, gaurav agarwal, shrutika nirgun, divya malu, manali patel, ved panchwagh, priyadarshi srivastava
site area: 350 square meters 3775 square feet
project area: 520 square meters 5600 square feet
liaison architects: sopan prabhu architects
structural engineers: rajeev shah & associates
MEP consultants: arkk consultants
site supervision: amish mistry architect
photographers: sebastian zachariah, ira gosalia, photographix

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: juliana neira | designboom