Weiss Architecture Studio

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Saran Architects

An Architectural project involves the creation of Light/shade with Logic , Creativity , Efficiency and Emotions and to design a house we mix elements of aspirations and memories . With this in mind , we ask our self

how we can add emotion and value to our

client’s home?

This question takes me back to my early days , where I was drowning in the fun memories with the spaces I and my gang enjoyed building forts and imagining myself role-playing characters from films . These characters which we role-played were hugely impacted by the house and the environment at that particular time period . That time I was not sure of the exact element but now I know that it was the texture , color , time that triggered our energy levels along with our role-play plots.

As I grew , Spaces started to have more direct impact with my thoughts and emotions and I started consciously arranging my personal space which i spend a lot of time to improve my skill sets and knowledge by having images of my vision and colors to motivate my actions and micro-spaces to satisfy my functions. These spaces slowly shaped my thoughts and my self image.

Same way , we all carry memories along for years, and over time they often turn into visual symbols and these symbols are clearly seen in our frequently used environment , one being our house and another our office . These visual symbols are also about aspirations, to reach a level that is understood as a measure of success and often manifests into a ‘form’. The form could be a house with a large porch, a Benz car, a certain building material associated with richness.

The concept of a home is also one which moves beyond physical spaces to experiences. For instance, for someone who grew up in Kerala in a house with large verandahs, rain was always experienced as water rolling down the sloping roof in sheets, which could be enjoyed sitting in the verandah. For such a person, ‘home’ would be that experience which you cannot have in a building with punched windows or with deep sunshades over windows. People often cry when they leave a house or even a flat, even if they are moving in to a better place- it is not about the comforts of the place they are leaving, but about the memories attached to that place that they are going to miss. Here a ‘space’ becomes a ‘place’, and a ‘house’ becomes a ‘home’.

The experience of rain in a house with verandahs and courtyards may be something one can never get in an urban apartment with small windows but a similar experience can be developed with a creative solution.

Hence it becomes important to respect those images in the mind while designing for an individual, all the more in the case of a house, and to capture them in a subtle way so as to create that link with these images.

These kind of visual requirements helps an architect to create more value to the users’s place and space , hence drowns them with joy and excitement of re-experiencing their memories as it is these kind of memories which helped the user define their character , attitude and meaning . These memories or images may belong to the past but we architects will transform them to future. This creates a toast in the process of design and a charm on creativity.

In the contemporary world of architecture, we are exposed to minimalism . We design as a process of creation with life and value with very minimal use of chaotic elements/process. Rituals, festivities and faith, colors and light, and a vibrancy that may appear almost chaotic for outsiders but with strong underlying order has been our culture which in turn defined our way of life, hence we always create science and faith with logic and sentiments which baggage our memories thus creating absorption.

The vibrancy and energy of a always changes and sometimes it is extremely difficult to capture that spontaneous vibrancy of street or a market place in a planned environment, so we set up context for that energy to grow in the spaces over years. Ageing of the buildings is a most interesting process, and creating those nooks and corners to absorb memories and make it richer over every passing day could help in creating a sense of homecoming.The process of building memories into the space is an ongoing process, it never stops, houses remain collection of memories that continue to build over the years forming a unique image for the occupant.

By : S.S.Abishek , Creative Head , Saran Architects

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