Skillfully realized by Rachna Agarwal, Founder and Design Ideator, Studio IAAD Elevate is a co-venture housing project marking the collaboration of Hines and Conscient, two major league developers in the Indian real estate sector. Spread across an area of about 10,000 sq. ft in a forest-like setting, the approach to the project evokes tranquility. Further, it depicts a wonderful fusion of rustic simplicity and biophilic design with a touch of European aesthetics. Rachna shares more details of the project with SURFACES REPORTER (SR):
Also Read: Red Concrete House in Gurugram Creates A Dialogue Between Whimsy And Simplicity | Anagram Architect
The holistic design brief allowed for a versatile and flexible intervention; the idea was to 'elevate' the person entering the condominiums from the chaos of the noisy world's frantic pace to a quiet, peaceful space where they can relax and take a breath of fresh air.
Greenery Welcomes The Visitors
The visitor is greeted with a narrow pathway on entry, wrapped in an enclosing thicket of overarching trees. It trails up to a circular courtyard with a sculpture at its nucleus, that embodies the aesthetics of grace, harmony, and serenity.
This courtyard connects to the building through a dynamic walkway peppered with abundant tropical trees and blossoming petunia flower beds on either side, activating the pedestrian experience and crafting a blissful forest-like environment. Encompassed within green canopies, the building seems to emerge from the verdant landscape, akin to the trees that surround it.
Rustic Simplicity With European Tadka
Steeped in a contemporary theme, the design also nods to rustic simplicity and examples of European aesthetics in the interiors.
The structure metaphorically manifests itself as a glass box at the ground level, wrapped in transparent ribbons of glazing and holding up the levitating opaque mass that houses the private enclosed spaces on top. The expansive glass walls offer unhindered views of the scenic splendour around, enriching the visual experience.
A sleek metal skeleton supports the structure, framing the glass facade and giving it a modern edge, thereby reducing the need for boxy columns. An open courtyard that forms the nexus of the project creates a niche in the building mass, dividing it into two distinct parts that remain visually connected. A conscious intervention places multiple human-form sculptures by Mukul Goyal to adorn the courtyard space with their faces directed towards the sky, representing the notion of being liberated and 'elevated'.
What it Comprises
Within the main dwelling, the ground floor accommodates the experience centre, a lounge, café and the audio-visual room, leading up to the show apartment, kids’ room, a lounge and meeting rooms at the top level. The seating spaces of the reception, outdoor deck, café and lounge, are stitched together around the central courtyard, in an unceasing dialogue with each other and the infinite open sky.
The spaces flow into one another and unfold as one moves along, enabling a gradual unwinding of the sensory experience instead of making a colossal impact instantly. Careful planning allows optimization of spaces and an easy concourse of commodious rooms. The audio-visual room is a theatrical experience that allows the visitors to watch a movie when the screen is down and reveals the model room as the screen lifts, unravelling an added dimension.
For experience centres, it is imperative to hold the visitor's attention, so the spaces have been designed cohesively in tandem with this intent. A specially designed kids’ room allows young families to explore the building in uninterrupted peace while their kids indulge in recreational activities. The staircase is designed using opulent chandeliers to usher the visitors from the lifts towards the stairs in order to make the ascent a part of the enchanting experience.
Also Read: Warm and Minimal Design Defines Internet Sensation And Content Creator Kusha Kapilas Home | Joint Studio | Gurugram
3-BHK Show Apartment
The three-bedroom show apartment is finished in inconspicuous, neutral tones and materials, allowing potential home-buyers to layer their personalities onto the house. Each user can relate to their own space, making it a unique selling point for the apartment.
Taking a cue from the natural surroundings, a soothing play of textures by ribbed wooden cladding and mirror panelling in subdued browns forms the highlight of the living room, accentuated by flooring and furniture in pristine white.
A wrap-around balcony ties two bedrooms and a corner of the living room, creating a sizable spill-out space for relaxation and recreation, enabling transcendence into the enveloping quietude. A juxtaposition of coarse with the fine; awe-inspiring artworks adorn the walls of the house, leaving a solid and lingering impression on the minds of the visitor with a recall factor long after they have left.
The artistry conjoined with carpets and lighting accessories in fresh and vibrant hues comes together and serenades the space with a warm, welcoming vibe- constituting a harmonious whole that exceeds the sum of its parts. A view gallery outside the apartment frames the sylvan panoramic vistas beneath the blue banner of the sky, acting as the epitome of the experience of 'Elevate' housing.
Also Read: The Minimalist Luxurious Interior of This Show-Flat in Surat Oozes Understated Elegance, Subtle Colours, and Less Visual Clutter | Utopia Designs
Reusing Lighting Fixtures and Furniture
Many accessories, including the lighting fixtures and furniture, have been reused from a previous project, facilitating a sustainable approach to waste management. The sculptures will also become a part of the landscape in the housing project.
Concentric cut-outs in the ceiling are designed to achieve a minimal yet elegant look, integrating both HVAC and lighting services into one. The structure is designed with metal, glass and wood as principal materials for quick construction, deconstruction and reuse.
A Conversation B/W Show Apartments and Experience Center
The design corroborates a dialogue between the experience centre and the show apartments through a similar theme and vocabulary. Envisioned as a boutique hotel, the building is averse to the prevailing treatment of experience centres as an afterthought to housing developments.
The ethereal slow-burn experience compels the visitor to sit and ponder, escaping in the forest's therapeutic solitude, away from the outer world, becoming a placid haven that people want to connect to, engage with and inhabit.
Project Details
Typology: Commercial / Show Apartment / Experience Center
Name of Project: Elevate Experience Center & Show Apartment
Location: Sector 9 Gurugram, Haryana
Name of Client: Hines - Conscient
Name of Client’s Firm: Heritage Max Realtech Pvt. Ltd.
Principal Architect: Rachna Agarwal, Founder and Design Ideator, StudioIAAD
Design Team: Priyanka Arora, Prachi Gupta, Ankita Kumari & Saamir Gupta
Site Area (sq ft & sq m): 20,000 sq ft
Built-Up Area (sq ft & sq m): 12,000 sq ft
Photographer: Andre J. Fanthome | Studio Noughts and Crosses
Keep reading SURFACES REPORTER for more such articles and stories.
Join us in SOCIAL MEDIA to stay updated
SR FACEBOOK | SR LINKEDIN | SR INSTAGRAM | SR YOUTUBE
Further, Subscribe to our magazine | Sign Up for the FREE Surfaces Reporter Magazine Newsletter
Also, check out Surfaces Reporter’s encouraging, exciting and educational WEBINARS here.
You may also like to read about:
Opulent Furniture and Statement Artworks Accentuate This Luxurious Duplex Apartment in Gurugram | Essentia Environments
Zinc Cladding With Metal Screens and Greens Filter Out The Heat From This House in Gurugram| Cityspace’ 82 Architects | The Stellar
And more…