Architects:Zero Energy Design Lab

Area :588 m²

Year :2021

Photographs :Studio nac

Manufacturers :  Daikin, Jaquar, Kohler, thyssenkrupp, ACP, Asian Paints, Design and Decor, Iota, Light Smith, StonexDaikin

Structural Contractor :Razdan Design Solutions

Electrical Contractors :ZED Lab

Civil Contractors :LS Associates

Façade Contractors :ZED Lab

Principal Architect : Sachin Rastogi

Design Team : Payal Seth Rastogi, Rohan Mishra

City : New Delhi

Country : India

Scoop House is a monolithic, three-storied residence that responds to the idea of contemporary urban living through sensitivity to context, style, and innovation in construction. Set amidst the tight urban fabric of Delhi, the modern house exhibits uniqueness in its form, by means of a façade that discounts the more popular orthogonality. The client’s western aspirations called for a modern outlook in designing for a family of three, over a linear plot of 180 sq yds. A context-sensitive approach has been adopted in contrast to the existing unvaried street form and architecture of the neighborhood that poorly responds to the existing community garden. The compactness of the site demanded verticality; hence, the south-east facing house is intended to be a monolithic block/cuboid with carved curvilinear facades. A large tree canopy in the community garden on the rear/north-east side forms inspiration for the curvilinearity. The scoops in the facades that the house derives its name from, help to break the scale and render a sense of softness to the building and its otherwise rigid context.

The design of the house is articulated through the varying levels of privacy, arranged in an ascending order – public, semi-public, and private. The design scheme is largely driven by combining three important factors: visual connectivity, natural daylight, and ventilation. To enhance the dynamics of the three inhabitants in a vertically-zoned format, it is important to enable visual connectivity across floors – and hence, an open connected environment for the family is crafted. Different levels have been achieved by splitting the house and the slabs with every mid-landing leading to an accessible, and very functional space. The overarching design idea facilitates the creation of volumes and views that allow deeper penetration of daylighting across the front and from the garden. With double-height volumes, almost 70% of the entire house is visually permeable from various viewpoints, while providing openness, yet maintaining privacy. The result is an interesting interplay of spaces that flow into each other, while embracing daylighting and ventilation. All the levels of the house employ strategic zoning to hold living areas predominantly on the north-east zone and sleeping areas on the south-west. Sleeping areas become buffer spaces to prevent heat gain during daytime. Additionally, the zoning and the splitting of volumes help hot air rise from within, thereby regulating the micro-environment through a stacked ventilation system.