The house that unfolds into the morning illumination: this villa is oriented towards the North and East to continually soak in cool, diffused light, shaping an environment of gentle luxury and calm spatial experience. The orientation is carefully aligned with the adjoining clubhouse and its expansive garden, allowing the villa’s private lawn to visually merge with the larger landscape beyond, creating a seamless and cohesive green expanse. With a strong connection to the open space at its core, porous spatial planning became the keystone of the project, enabling a fluid exchange between built and unbuilt. Laid out across multiple levels, the architecture choreographs a seamless visual and physical dialogue with the landscape, offering curated moments of pause, movement, and quiet introspection.
- Project Name: Levant House
- Office Name: VPA ARCHITECTS
- Office Website: http://www.vpaarchitects.in/
- Contact email: vpaarchitects@gmail.com
- Firm Location: AHMEDABAD, GUJARAT,INDIA
- Lead Architects: RONAKPATEL, JINALPATEL, NAIYAPATEL
- Lead Architects e-mail: vpaarchitects@gmail.com
- Photo Credits: INCLINEDSTUDIO
Completion Year: 2024
Gross Built Area (m2/ ft2): 12,000 ft2 APPROX
Project Location: AHMEDABAD, INDIA
Gross Built Area (m2/ ft2): 12,000 ft2 APPROX
Project Location: AHMEDABAD, INDIA
The design language is rooted in Modern Minimalism, defined by clean lines, uncluttered volumes, and functional planning that prioritizes clarity and openness. Every primary space is oriented to maximize garden views, ensuring a constant visual connection with nature, while a thoughtfully integrated recreational basement extends the living experience without compromising on light, openness, or spatial continuity. The conceptual foundation draws from both the site orientation and the client’s lifestyle needs anchored by an East-facing frontage that captures soft morning light, and a South-West block that provides privacy and thermal buffering. At the heart of the home, a central courtyard emerges as a breathing core, fostering cross-ventilation, visual continuity, and a constant interplay between the indoors and the surrounding landscape.
The entry sequence unfolds with a quiet sense of theatre. A vestibule wrapped in glass blocks filters natural light into a gallery-like threshold, setting a tone of subtle drama and anticipation. Within this space, a mural of Ganesha anchors the experience, complemented by abstract furniture in a restrained palette of whites, ivories, and warm browns. The vestibule appears to float beneath a cantilevered concrete slab, creating a striking perception of lightness and arrival. Meanwhile, the car park is discreetly positioned, accessed indirectly to remain hidden from immediate view, reinforcing the sense of a carefully revealed spatial journey. Through indirect entrances and layered façade detailing, the architecture plays with opacity and translucence, offering controlled glimpses of spaces yet to unfold. Elevations incorporate wooden screens that modulate light and privacy, while redwood ceilings extend onto select walls, adding warmth, texture, and continuity across interior surfaces.
The residence is constructed using an RCC framed structure, providing both durability and structural flexibility. This framework is articulated with metal and glass to introduce transparency and lightness, while wood is strategically used within interiors to bring warmth and tactile richness. During construction, a significant challenge arose when the initial sandstone cladding reacted adversely with cement and chemicals, leading to detachment. This was resolved by replacing it with brick cladding, a more stable and contextually appropriate solution that enhanced both durability and aesthetic coherence. The overall colour palette remains light and earthy, reinforcing the minimalist ethos while harmonizing with the surrounding landscape. Soft tones accentuate openness, while earthy finishes ground the spaces with warmth and subtle depth.
The spatial organization unfolds like a checkerboard of interlinked private and public zones. A carved courtyard adjacent to the living room plays a pivotal role within the L-shaped plan, enabling cross ventilation across both storeys while visually anchoring the home. The family sitting veranda evolves as an informal yet intimate threshold, blurring the boundaries between inside and outside and encouraging moments of togetherness. Generous open spaces ensure comfort and ease of circulation, while the home’s hosting capacity is enhanced through fluid layouts that connect glazed living areas, decks, lawns, and the open-to-sky veranda. Dual kitchens one open and interactive, the other tucked away for functional efficiency reflect the rhythm of daily life, while the dining space flows seamlessly towards the outdoor lawn, framed by soft natural light and subdued material tones.
Interiors are composed with an emphasis on subtle luxury, where neutral artworks and restrained palettes avoid visual clutter while maintaining a refined aesthetic. Between the veranda and the drawing room, a double-height puja space overlooks greenery, becoming both a spiritual and spatial focal point. This volume is complemented by a sculptural wooden staircase that rises elegantly through the space, connecting levels while acting as a visual anchor within the home.
Interiors are composed with an emphasis on subtle luxury, where neutral artworks and restrained palettes avoid visual clutter while maintaining a refined aesthetic. Between the veranda and the drawing room, a double-height puja space overlooks greenery, becoming both a spiritual and spatial focal point. This volume is complemented by a sculptural wooden staircase that rises elegantly through the space, connecting levels while acting as a visual anchor within the home.
The upper floor accommodates cosy bedrooms, each designed with a distinct yet harmonious character. The children’s room introduces a lively, playful energy through bold accents, funky posters, and a large window that frames expansive views of the sky, paired with a study area that integrates seamlessly into the soft interior palette. The remaining bedrooms adopt a calmer, more introspective tone, with quiet contrasts introduced through elements such as skylit bathrooms that invite natural light deep into the spaces, enhancing both comfort and spatial experience.
The basement reveals itself as a sunken retreat a hidden layer of the home that transforms into a plush home theatre. Finished in muted tones and softened by luxurious seating, this space offers a cocooned escape from the activity above, balancing entertainment with intimacy and comfort.
The basement reveals itself as a sunken retreat a hidden layer of the home that transforms into a plush home theatre. Finished in muted tones and softened by luxurious seating, this space offers a cocooned escape from the activity above, balancing entertainment with intimacy and comfort.
The landscape remains intrinsically tied to the architecture, forming green pockets that are both soothing and vibrant. Designed to accommodate large gatherings, these outdoor areas come alive with warm lighting, curated planting, and a balanced energy that shifts effortlessly between relaxation and festivity. Completing the narrative, solar panels installed on the terrace ensure that the home not only serves its inhabitants but also contributes to the environment, quietly supporting energy conservation and sustainable living practices.
Ultimately, the courtyard and the veranda emerge as the most cherished elements of the house, celebrated for their balance of intimacy and openness. The project’s defining strength lies in its spatial organization arranging built forms in harmony with the outdoor environment to create a home that feels expansive, breathable, and deeply connected to nature. It stands as a contemporary reinterpretation of traditional Indian spatial principles, expressed through a modern minimalist lens that prioritizes light, flow, and enduring simplicity.
