HOMECOMING

Rajiv Saini + Associates nurture this villa in Dhampur with a raw and organic demeanour underlined by play of light and shadow

- SALONI REGE

Nestling within a sugar factory campus—one of India’s largest that is owned by the clients in a small town of Uttar Pradesh’s Dhampur, this 7,400 sq ft house redefines the notion of homecoming.

“A familiar essence prevailed as we designed this fourth abode for our former clients. Previously, we have worked on their Delhi-based primary residence and built holiday homes in Goa and Dehradun for their retreat dreams,” says Rajiv Saini, principal architect of his namesake practice. Surrounding the residence are silhouettes of factory chimneys in the backdrop, as if the house always belonged there, which in fact was the brief from the start.

And as a design team, Rajiv Saini, Yusuf Pardawala and Puneet Rathore happily acknowledged it.

The homeowners divide their time between Delhi and Singapore. However, now that they would be empty nesters, owing to the youngest of their three daughters leaving for further studies; they wanted to spend most of their time at the factory campus, engaging in social work for their employees and workers.

The design team visited Dhampur to explore a possible land parcel for the house and witnessed multiple structures built in local bricks. Considering the context, they decided to use exposed bricks and concrete as a medium of construction. Built by the local workers, the house is constructed in bricks acquired from the native kiln.