in ahmedabads weather you dont want the harsh sun but dont want to block the air either says bandukwala the sliding doors of the family spaces open to the verandah connect the two gardens through the interior the thick walls and verandahs allows light to enter keeping the heat out aha moment spurred with this design brief the banduksmith associates designed a house a 40 metre wall wedged within landscape the house is filled with many more microdetails like seats set within the arcade stormwater pipes forming waterfalls and a cantilevered balcony peeking out to south lawns the displaced ground surface is transposed on the roof as a terrace garden it would also be a place to host gatherings for my family and friends the verandah transforms gently into a ramp which winds its way around the house to this terrace garden intermitted by the tabletop skylights ahmedabad after a 5 km drive as the concrete city fades into rustic countryside the spirits of the weekenders soar at the same time it had to be a minimal intervention maximizing the relationship with nature smith says an architectural abstract is often created from personal details the straight house as the architect couple sachin bandukwala and mellisa smith call it divides the ground into two breaking away from the stress of the everyday i wanted my retreat to celebrate this weekly retirement says citybased businessman shriraj shah the larger one in the north is for summer gatherings and the smaller in the south for cozy winter gettogethers these details when woven together form the narrative of a homethe as one enjoys company and tea in the northern lawns champas growing on the rooftop terrace frame the silhouette of the house having surpassed notions of levels the aha moment is as you wander about the house the sense of gliding through the space which the ramp provides set within a 400 sq m plot surrounded by vegetation the prospects of opening the house to a vista was limited their obligations of the weekdays dissolve only to unwind cozily in nature not too far from the urban buzz and yet not too near either for the architect the only respite was to direct the senses upwards the interior family spaces are all recessed within this thickened wall the bedrooms are tucked in the back sheltered by walls and punctured by skylights