Dalal House
The client is a wealthy businessman who was looking to furnish his vacation home in Pondicherry.
CLIENT
Mr. Dalal
CATEGORY
Independent Home
SUB-CATEGORY
Residential
LOCATION
Auroville
PROJECT AREA
1,500 sq.ft
LAND AREA
1 acres
Scope
Heritage Interior Design, Furniture Design
–
Completed
Project Brief
The apartment was purchased in a community that has a heritage theme. Therefore, the client wanted to furnish the home with heritage-themed furniture.
CHALLENGE
The biggest challenge was a one-line directive by the client – ‘No plywood to be used anywhere. Solid Wood only!’ As a furniture designer, plywood is a magical invention. It is only a few millimeters thick and can span 8’. It is because of plywood that most items we use every day are possible.
Even skyscrapers today are being made with plywood – plyscrapers ! Can you imagine a bed or a dining table without plywood? Most of us don’t realize how ubiquitous this wonder material is in our homes.
Design
We decided to purchase several tons of old timber from demolished homes. This timber has several interesting properties. Firstly, it is already seasoned because it has survived the test of time. This means that it won’t warp or bend after it has been repurposed.
Secondly, it is resistant to termites. Three, it has beautiful looking grains that when polished can transport you to an earlier time.
It took several weeks to source the timber and hand-craft each piece. The result is an exceptional series of over 75 bespoke pieces that have been made in the 21st century but have a colonial design whilst using timber from colonial times!
Saree printing blocks were used as handles for all shutters and no two blocks are alike. The entire home has over 84 such unique handles!
Auroma Architecture
Auroma French Villaments,
Chinnakottakupam Forest Road,
Auroville, Pondicherry,
Tamil Nadu – 605104