Tribute to Louis Kahn: Brick-fronted Safdarjang Residence by AKDA
Interiors

Tribute to Louis Kahn: Brick-fronted Safdarjang Residence by AKDA

The Safdarjang Residence was created for a location on a serene residential street in India's capital city by the company led by architect Amit Khanna. The structure consists of four flats that are raised over a parking level that also houses utility areas and the staff quarters. A perforated screen composed of brick tiles stretches the whole height of the upper three floors on the street elevation. The full-width balconies are framed by a huge circle carved into the square screen.

The dramatic style was inspired by American architect Louis Kahn's work in India and Bangladesh in the early 1960s. Kahn's design featured a lot of massive volumes that showed their construction. He likes textured brick and bare concrete, which he utilised in inventive ways to create lyrical and expressive structures.

Earlier this year, one of Kahn's most important projects in India was threatened with destruction. The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad's 18 dormitory buildings have brick façade pierced by apertures in the shapes of arches, circles, and squares. AKDA sought to recreate this combination of monolithic shapes and geometric voids performed with precision utilising strong materials in the design of the New Delhi home.


"The choice of brick at the Safdarjang Residence may be interpreted as a response to the location or a commentary on materiality," Khanna remarked of the building's exterior. "What it actually represents, though, is an ongoing debate in India's contemporary architecture history. The façade is an ode to architecture as envisaged by a particularly exceptional architect (Kahn)."

A steel structure that creates a huge tension ring supports the ornamental facade feature. Around the circular aperture, brick tiles are placed in a jaali design. The apartment building sits on a nine-metre-wide plot of land that is boxed in on all sides by its neighbours.

The architects concentrated all of the functions in a core on one side of the building, leaving the living spaces open to allow light to flood in via wide openings on both ends. An open-air patio is included into the floor layout on the top floor. Around the central stairway, each apartment has two en-suite bedrooms and a kitchen, with a living, dining space, and a study or puja prayer room in the open area.

The choice of strong and honest materials in the interiors continues the homage to Kahn. Board-formed concrete ceilings and locally sourced Kota stone floor slabs compliment the exposed brick walls. The mustard-yellow Jaisalmer stone in the top-floor apartment's patio and bathrooms adds a burst of colour, while blue, handmade tiles form a backsplash above the kitchen's stainless steel counter.

Each unit has a front and back balcony. A stairway with cantilevered stone steps leads to a roof patio on the top floor. In another part of India, Diana Kellogg Architects designed an oval-shaped school in the Thar Desert that was inspired by feminine symbolism. Saket Sethi, an Indian architect, constructed an egg-shaped garden temple that was meant to resemble a galaxy.

The Safdarjang Residence was created for a location on a serene residential street in India's capital city by the company led by architect Amit Khanna. The structure consists of four flats that are raised over a parking level that also houses utility areas and the staff quarters. A perforated screen composed of brick tiles stretches the whole height of the upper three floors on the street elevation. The full-width balconies are framed by a huge circle carved into the square screen. The dramatic style was inspired by American architect Louis Kahn's work in India and Bangladesh in the early 1960s. Kahn's design featured a lot of massive volumes that showed their construction. He likes textured brick and bare concrete, which he utilised in inventive ways to create lyrical and expressive structures. Earlier this year, one of Kahn's most important projects in India was threatened with destruction. The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad's 18 dormitory buildings have brick façade pierced by apertures in the shapes of arches, circles, and squares. AKDA sought to recreate this combination of monolithic shapes and geometric voids performed with precision utilising strong materials in the design of the New Delhi home.The choice of brick at the Safdarjang Residence may be interpreted as a response to the location or a commentary on materiality, Khanna remarked of the building's exterior. What it actually represents, though, is an ongoing debate in India's contemporary architecture history. The façade is an ode to architecture as envisaged by a particularly exceptional architect (Kahn). A steel structure that creates a huge tension ring supports the ornamental facade feature. Around the circular aperture, brick tiles are placed in a jaali design. The apartment building sits on a nine-metre-wide plot of land that is boxed in on all sides by its neighbours. The architects concentrated all of the functions in a core on one side of the building, leaving the living spaces open to allow light to flood in via wide openings on both ends. An open-air patio is included into the floor layout on the top floor. Around the central stairway, each apartment has two en-suite bedrooms and a kitchen, with a living, dining space, and a study or puja prayer room in the open area. The choice of strong and honest materials in the interiors continues the homage to Kahn. Board-formed concrete ceilings and locally sourced Kota stone floor slabs compliment the exposed brick walls. The mustard-yellow Jaisalmer stone in the top-floor apartment's patio and bathrooms adds a burst of colour, while blue, handmade tiles form a backsplash above the kitchen's stainless steel counter. Each unit has a front and back balcony. A stairway with cantilevered stone steps leads to a roof patio on the top floor. In another part of India, Diana Kellogg Architects designed an oval-shaped school in the Thar Desert that was inspired by feminine symbolism. Saket Sethi, an Indian architect, constructed an egg-shaped garden temple that was meant to resemble a galaxy.

Next Story
Infrastructure Transport

Work on Chennai’s First Cable-Stayed Bridge Set to Begin Soon

Construction of Chennai’s first cable-stayed bridge is set to begin soon as part of the Chennai Port–Maduravoyal elevated corridor project. The bridge will be located near Napier Bridge, where the corridor crosses onto Swami Sivananda Salai. A single pier will support the structure at this location, and the ramp will extend via Island Grounds. Piling work at the site is expected to begin shortly.Two additional cable-stayed bridges will also be constructed along the 20-km-long double-decker corridor—one at Koyambedu and another at Maduravoyal. Each of the three bridges will be 300 metres ..

Next Story
Infrastructure Transport

MMRDA Seeks Rs 5.50 Bn Property Tax Waiver on Metro Yards and RMC Plants

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has requested the State Urban Development Department to direct the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to waive Rs 5.50 billion in property tax levied on temporary casting yards and Ready Mix Concrete (RMC) plants set up by Metro contractors. This request follows a letter sent by the BMC in December 2024, demanding recovery of the pending dues.J Kumar Infraprojects was allotted seven plots by MMRDA across various BMC wards—H/East (Santacruz), H/West (Bandra), K/East (Andheri), P/North (Malad), and M/West (Chembur)—to establi..

Next Story
Infrastructure Transport

Bridging the Gap

India’s bridge infrastructure market is poised for significant growth, projected to rise from $ 42.16 billion in FY2024 to $ 68.26 billion by FY2032, registering a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.21 per cent, according to Markets & Data. This upward trajectory is bolstered by an 11.1 per cent increase in capital infrastructure spending this year, taking the total allocation to Rs 11.11 lakh crore (~$ 133 billion).“Policy reforms and institutional frameworks have emerged as key accelerators in India’s bridge construction landscape, streamlining execution, enhancing resilience ..

Advertisement

Advertisement

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Get daily newsletters around different themes from Construction world.

STAY CONNECTED

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Talk to us?