Project Name: Lacuna

 Completion year: 2021

 Gross Built up Area: 1500 sqm

 Project Location: Dehradun

 Choice of techniques: Exposed Brickwork and Brick jali with Lime Pointing, Bamboo (for railings and porch), Shobri Wall

 Lead Architects: Ar. Gayatri Maithani, Ar. Yashwanth Chandra

 Supervising Team: Ar. Samridhi Bhardwaj, Ar. Garima Khali, Ar Ankur Sharma, and Ar. Anum Khan.

 Client: Mr. Pankaj Singh Gussain

 Photo Credits: Gayatri Maithani, Garima Khali 

Located in Dehradun, Lacuna Residence is a specimen of sustainable architecture, with the use of techniques and materials that are well suited to the climate of Dehradun. 

The word lacuna means a gap, which is an appropriate name for our concept of bridging the gap between conventional and sustainable. The site is surrounded by typical plastered houses, whereas lacuna with its exposed brick walls and bamboo features stands out and marks its presence in the neighborhood. 

 

Design Approach

Lacuna has its design approach set by various parameters that can make the space an all-rounder. The diverse ingredients include climatic attributes, site context, user requirements and sustainable living principles. Addressing these elements as a composition is what encompassed the built environment we have. The site is divided into two parts (one side built space and landscape on the other) by a high tension line that runs diagonally above the site and thus created a design constraint and an opportunity which guided us in deciding the orientation, position and footprint of the built environment. This residence is designed for a family of 4 with varied professions but common interest in life, whose initial requirement was a 2BHK duplex and a 1BHK, both for renting out. The ground floor consists of a drawing room, pooja, a kitchen, two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The upper floor has a living room, a sunroom and a 1BHK. The duplex and 1BHK are separated by use of levels. 

  

Illumination

The Orientation of Lacuna gives a great opportunity to grasp warm natural light during the day and protect the space, aptly, from harsh sun during the noon.

 

To offer ventilation, daylight and privacy, brick jalis are installed in the living room, Pooja and lounge.  Apart from within, lacuna glows with the first touch of sunlight all the way till half past eight on most days. The windows and ventilators create design patterns while achieving the illumination of the built space in a unique way.

Besides making the most of the North and East light, the design also accommodates a Sunroom in first floor and a double heighted veranda in ground floor onto the south west direction for the occupants to soak themselves in sunlight during the winters. Lacuna's Borrowed streetscape has resulted in letting the street light enter the house, just enough to create privacy while brightening up the common spaces facing the street, keeping private spaces undisturbed. This helps in conserving energy during night. The play of light in this context goes beyond aesthetics, naturally lit spaces, energy conservation and ambience creation, it is the right blend of all these to give their lifestyle a supportive space to live and grow.

  

Heat and Ventilation

The HVAC system of a modern day built space is completely controlled and is no-more a natural response to the climate of the place. This house has got an opportunity to use the vast size of the plot and the site context to evolve in a way that it could live, listen and respond to the nature surrounding it. As a result, Lacuna has ample openings towards the north and east direction to let in easy air while the west side is well protected by closely packing to the site boundary. The orientation helps in creation of design that can better use the natural winds for advantage and create a characterised house that responds to benefit the occupants. 

Dampness and Sublimation

Places like Dehradun have constant battles with troubles of water quality and their consequences like sublimation and dampness due to cold weather and heavy rains. The toughest of the problems often have the simplest of the solutions. Lacuna has dealt with it by clear execution of exposed brickwork giving enough breathable space to dry the walls and the residual lime to be brushed off. The weather proof coat has helped in sustaining the wall quality while keeping the dampness in check.

Electrical and Fire safety

Most of the components we have seen so far require electrical input at various levels and so does their insulation against the fire accidents. Lacuna in particular has one electrical line outside the walled spaces from which it needs insulation and protection, the high tension (H.T) electrical line. Lacuna is provided with bamboo railing and columnar support to protect the structure and its occupants from any unforeseen situations. They are designed to redirect the line away from the house and bamboo being a bad conductor of electricity protects the house and its occupants from the H.T.  Line, making it both electrical and fire safe.

 

Landscape

Beyond all the attributes and elements lacuna has got, one thing that shows the age, the responsive nature of the place while adding to the character of the built environment is the landscape. Landscaping is a major part of the spatial development and makes the place lively, attracts beautiful birds and butterflies, while graciously complements the borrowed landscape from the surrounding forest reserve in the vicinity. The site context has an abundance of green reserves which have resulted in inspiring the design to have green spaces that can span both horizontally and vertically. 

     

Characterisation and Personality

Lacuna has an agglomeration of intense details that together formulate the house.

Multiple brick patterns form a characterization of the built space while brick jali patterns add more to the personality of Lacuna. The complete brick work being exposed gives out a sense of honesty & truth to materials while still protecting the way it has been growing.

  

The bull’s eye window in the ground floor drawing room, with a grill in an abstract lotus shape, has upped the dynamic of the whole structure, both from the outside & within, to a new level. The placement of the bull’s eye window on a curving wall overlooking the approach road has given a great sense of aesthetic, security and character to the house and its occupants. 

  

Other than bricks and cement, the Lacuna consists of a shuttered debris (SHOBRI) wall with lime finish facing the east which glows in the morning sun and projects variations in colour as the day progresses. This wall comprising earth & debris has got a big window that creates a balance of light and warmth.

  

After the walls and windows, there comes the ceiling that adds to the cost-effectiveness and sustainability of the design. In Lacuna, we see ceilings of all kinds that are plain yet beautiful. The use of clay pot filler slabs helped us eliminate the need for false ceilings and has simultaneously provided insulation for the house. The filler slab patterns have assisted in the continuation of the language of lacuna, which was set by its exposed brick work and patterns.

Lacuna has space specifically allotted for the purposes it is ought to serve. Landscape pockets on the ground floor are provided for the kitchen garden and on the terrace, pockets run along the parapet wall which accommodates climbers, herbal and flowering plants. This landscape pocket is marked by geometrical progression waves of twin parapet walls running parallel 2 feet apart to make sure that the people standing on the terrace are further away from the High Tension wire. The rest of the terrace to be used as a gathering space for friends and family.

Bamboo, a versatile building material with great tensile strength and ease of working, is used for railings and an extended balcony, creating an entrance foyer, and adding a unique character to the residence.

 

Lacuna has many more such design details and patterns that can be observed during the day and night.