This contemporary residence by Rajiv Saini is located in the Himalayas of Kasauli, India. The sloped concrete roof was inspired by the mountains that surround the home. According to the architects: Working with a very limited area of flat land to build upon, the challenge was to create for the client the 4 bedroom house he desired spread around 8000 square feet of built up area. We clearly did not want a two storey structure come up in this pristine natural environment, so we zeroed in on the idea of creating a wing running along the eastern length of the hill, and a wing running the western length, displaced by a level, such that the roof of the western wing becomes a terraced deck for the upper eastern wing. A small area of overlap of the two volumes allows for a staircase to facilitate vertical movement between the two floors.
As a result of this you drive around the hill first encountering the houses cantilevering upper eastern volumes, and only as you turn around the northern tip, does the lower western side become visible, reading as a single storey once again . A geometry of inclined concrete planes capped by an origami like concrete roof ( inspired by the hilly mountain ranges all around) defines the upper volume which encloses the entrance lobby and two bedrooms to the north of the entrance and the living dining , kitchen ,staff and utilities to the south of the entrance.
In the lower western volume are located 2 bedrooms, a Multimedia room, stores and a small massage and steam room. Bedrooms and bathrooms in each wing are arranged as a series of independent volumes cantilevering out from the hill slope, with all of them opening out onto wooden decks.
