Details with a Life

Text: M. Sayem Ghayur and Mahrukh Sayem
Photography: Ar. Fahim Anwer Khatri & Ar. Sayem Ghayur

Construction of residences in affluent parts of Karachi has been held hostage by the contractor mafia of the city; contractors invest in a business of making typical and formulaic houses all around the city, irrespective of any tangible or intangible conditions. An architect designed house in between a plethora of these urban cacti proves to be a soothing sight for bruised eyes. Architect Fahim Khatri’s residence for Naved Khan, a pilot by profession, exclaims the fondness of a young contemporary architect which he loves to flaunt but doesn’t get much of a chance in this commercial age. The heavy presence of a fair-face textured volume against disengaging planes, stone cladding and a touch of stainless steel sets the mood of a house, living a life of modern age. The residence located in a remote Khayaban of Defence Phase 8 in Karachi, was totally conceived to be planned with an inwards orientation. According to the architect the absence of activity in the context provided enough incentive to keep the house totally introverted, although the chunky balcony on the front façade did hint a deviation in conventional understanding of design as generally practiced by most of the architects.