The courtyard house in stone
Text: Ar. Ramiz Baig & Ar. Maria. A
Photography: Ali Khurshid
Project: Residence
Clients: Mr. & Mrs. S. Ali Hasnain
Architects and Engineers: Bilgrami & Faruque
Project Team: Syed Akeel Bilgrami, Principal Architect
Abid Hussain, Project Architect
Faruque Sultan, Structural Engineer
Contractor: M/s Ashraf & Mushtaq
Location: South Avenue, D.H.A. Phase II, Karachi.
Plot Area: 1000 syds.
Built-up Areas:
Ground floor: 3450 sft.
First floor: 1570 sft.
Year of Construction: 1998-99
Contemporary architects continue to explore the possibilities of merging inside and outside space first contemplated by twentieth century pioneers. Technology has advanced far beyond the structural innovations that first made it possible to throw open the walls so to speak. Architects working in warm, dry locations have a distinct advantage over those designing houses for cold rainy climates. Shelter from the occasional storm maybe necessary but shutters and doors don’t have to be drawn all the time. They kept the circulation completely open to the elements and made a living and dining room that seamlessly extend onto the inner courtyard. Design elements that adapt to changes in the weather or the owners desire for privacy are the most innovative responses to integrating interiors with the exterior.
Courtyard houses in our part of the world is, not just an architectural style, but a way of life……a style of how to make a home. The subcontinent style of courtyard houses is a remarkable form of residential architecture. The courtyard was this style’s quintessence and its relevance to the home was apparent as well as subtle. It was the structure’s core. The courtyard ordered other spaces by context in an abode where space was not rigidly fixed but could be adaptable depending on the time of day, season and exigency. It obliquely controlled the environment inside and served the needs of its inhabitants. Its mood changed with varying degrees of light and shade and with them the ambience of the abode. Centrally located, it imprinted the domain of the dwelling like a visual anchor. Around this courtyard space the rest of the structure seamlessly coalesced by the play of peristyles and gallery spaces. It was the spatial, social, and environment control center of the home.
This form of architecture met with the requirements of the traditional joint family system as well as the climate. The courtyard functioned as a convective thermostat and gave protection from extremes of weather. A dust storm could pass overhead with little effects on the inmates. The courtyard moderated the extreme effects of the hot summers and freezing winters of the Indian sub continent, and averaged out the large diurnal temperature differences. It varied from being a narrow opening to a large peristyle one in the interior zone of the house, with perhaps another or more near the entrance and the rear section. The total number of courtyards in one residence could sometimes be five to six.
There can be few contemporary architects of Pakistan who have sustained more then 30 years of residential design, and who have continued to refine their design approach so that each new house provides surprise, invention and accomplished spatial and experiential theatre. The Hasnain’s residence designed by Architect Akeel Bilgrami is located in an older part of DHA, where an existing family home was demolished to make way for this one. The approach is peaceful under the shade of the trees which were grown by owners while the house was being built and are thus mature ones.
The form is again understated but once it captures your eye one hastens to finally get inside and unravel its mystery. You are welcomed into the house by a wooden colonnade on a mohram path with the greens growing over it providing maximum shade. Instead of finding a regular pergola the architect has used the Islamic star motif to construct the wooden cover over the pathway. The colonnade also marks the division between the walkway and the pergola covered car park on one side and the green lawn on the other.
The feeling of the house is utterly relaxed, Bilgrami wanted to anchor the house in local materials and used in age old ways. The defining qualities of the house are the pleasure of the threshold and the way it is sustained from the exterior to the internal courtyard which holds the house together. One proceeds through a series of gateways, shifting axes, framed vistas, parallel paths, one solid and a water body before finally reaching a climax in the which are undeniably the interior spaces who slowly and gradually turn as interiors since there is a seamless flow from the exterior to the interior.
The trees on the site and the relative peace and quiet in the area have led to an increase in the number of migratory birds in the area. Their musical notes transcend the experience and one does truly feel is away from the hustle bustle of the Megapolitan Karachi even though in such close proximity to the ever busy and loud Sunset boulevard.
The architect has designed three distinct and rich experiences through which one enters the house, the first was the colonnade, and the second comes in the way of a stone form which encloses a scenic entrance court which is entered from its side to enrich the walk through. As one walks through the plantation and the water body the front door beckons and as soon as it opens the third experience, the view of the central courtyard around which the house is built.
The courtyard is intimate, the size being just right for small gatherings of family and friends; it truly is the heart of the house. The master of the house regularly breakfasts there. The courtyard which traditionally has been the heart of the house due to our social setup is a relief to see in the modern house where it shows the sensitivity of the architect and how he overcomes DHA’s often creativity restraining bye laws. The courtyard is also a climatic response, through it cool winds and sun light reach part of the houses where it would not have been possible due to the built mass. It is interesting to note that when climate permits, architects are following in those early modern footsteps by creating houses that fearlessly open up the indoors to the exterior. The courtyard also boasts a small water feature in its center enriching the visual and auditory ambience. The play of light on the textured wall of stone is also another fascinating display which changes hour to hour and even season to season. As night approaches, the courtyard remains only dimly lit by concealed lighting adding to its aura and becomes picturesque setting for candlelit dinners.
Another special aspect of this house is that the stone used was transported from an old house in Civil Lines which was being taken down. It surely is a pleasure when the architect and client have the same foresight for the project. The stone walls thus used in the house are load bearing and the material is completely exposed on the outside. Interestingly enough the exteriors travel inside and form the entertaining areas which also have exposed stone walls internally. This truly adds to the overall aesthetic of the house, a bold and righteous gesture.
As the stone was taken from another existing site it already has aged and aged well. Colour variations in the stone have resulted from exposure to the sun and the lack of it. The client deserves due credit for understanding the nature and behavior of stone as a material and embraced it instead of opposing it. One sees many cases where the client wants the rustic stone and cement plaster look; yet also want it having as unnaturally refined as that of a commercial tile thereby killing the essence of the natural material.
As traditionally is the case lime plaster was and is used for grouting the stone walls, and since stone craftsmen were then unavailable in Karachi, hence craftsmen skilled in this particular field were specially brought in from the Punjab. Future replications of the works by local contractors on the house have been futile and one truly feels master craftsmen should only be entrusted in maintaining the stone work of the building.
The architect and client were both intent on using as much indigenous material as possible, thus terracotta tiles were used for the flooring of the courts, the flooring has complemented the stone and both add to the richness of the house. Due to high cost of dressed stone, the idea of having stone construction was soon dropped and the possibility of working with adobe was pursued. Just when the drawings were finalized, and as the story goes; the client learnt of the ongoing demolition of two large colonial stone bungalows. Without wasting time, a deal was struck with the demolition contractor and much of the stone was purchased, at an affordable price.
The house is a load bearing structure with all external and a few internal walls 14” thick, in stone, dressed on both surfaces in lime mortar. The other peripheral walls have lime sand plaster rendering from inside that is left in its original surface, unpainted. The central courtyard which provides light and ventilation into the rooms also provides a secure, private outdoor space for the family and guests. The use of stone masonry and lime plaster (rendered by a master mason from Multan) has been instrumental in keeping the interior of the house cool during summers and warm during winters.
As with the use of traditional motif in the pergola covered walkway one found remnants of it in other details around the house. The service staircase at the back of the house was cleverly screened by the use of cement jali depicting the same design. Also the pattern is repeated in the wooden jafri which occupy the window openings in the entrance court.
The clients over the years have not been permanent residents of this house due to their offshore commitments. Now that they are back for the foreseeable future a serious effort is going to be made to refine the landscaping and develop the roof terrace. One definitely looks forward to these interventions and will aim to visit the house yet again to view how the house has blossomed in the coming years.
The Hasnain’s residence can be defined in many ways….. a house that was contemporary, yet timeless, energy efficient, climatically appropriate, private and maintenance free. The fascination with the adobe house and Karachi’s colonial stone architecture is resplendent in its articulation.
Over the last ten years, the house has gradually matured, along with the foliage and trees, exuding a sense of timelessness that the clients had originally envisaged. Bilgrami kept the materials basic, reinforced load bearing structure, a specialty of the local construction industry; native sandstone and glass. All of these materials make an intimate connection between the architecture and the site, between the earth and the sky. In these harsh climatic zone, controlling excess sun is more important than creating poetic plays of light and Bilgrami dexterously handled the sun and shade and the overplay of interior to exterior in this stone encrusted courtyard residence.
Photography: Ali Khurshid
Project: Residence
Clients: Mr. & Mrs. S. Ali Hasnain
Architects and Engineers: Bilgrami & Faruque
Project Team: Syed Akeel Bilgrami, Principal Architect
Abid Hussain, Project Architect
Faruque Sultan, Structural Engineer
Contractor: M/s Ashraf & Mushtaq
Location: South Avenue, D.H.A. Phase II, Karachi.
Plot Area: 1000 syds.
Built-up Areas:
Ground floor: 3450 sft.
First floor: 1570 sft.
Year of Construction: 1998-99
Contemporary architects continue to explore the possibilities of merging inside and outside space first contemplated by twentieth century pioneers. Technology has advanced far beyond the structural innovations that first made it possible to throw open the walls so to speak. Architects working in warm, dry locations have a distinct advantage over those designing houses for cold rainy climates. Shelter from the occasional storm maybe necessary but shutters and doors don’t have to be drawn all the time. They kept the circulation completely open to the elements and made a living and dining room that seamlessly extend onto the inner courtyard. Design elements that adapt to changes in the weather or the owners desire for privacy are the most innovative responses to integrating interiors with the exterior.
Courtyard houses in our part of the world is, not just an architectural style, but a way of life……a style of how to make a home. The subcontinent style of courtyard houses is a remarkable form of residential architecture. The courtyard was this style’s quintessence and its relevance to the home was apparent as well as subtle. It was the structure’s core. The courtyard ordered other spaces by context in an abode where space was not rigidly fixed but could be adaptable depending on the time of day, season and exigency. It obliquely controlled the environment inside and served the needs of its inhabitants. Its mood changed with varying degrees of light and shade and with them the ambience of the abode. Centrally located, it imprinted the domain of the dwelling like a visual anchor. Around this courtyard space the rest of the structure seamlessly coalesced by the play of peristyles and gallery spaces. It was the spatial, social, and environment control center of the home.
This form of architecture met with the requirements of the traditional joint family system as well as the climate. The courtyard functioned as a convective thermostat and gave protection from extremes of weather. A dust storm could pass overhead with little effects on the inmates. The courtyard moderated the extreme effects of the hot summers and freezing winters of the Indian sub continent, and averaged out the large diurnal temperature differences. It varied from being a narrow opening to a large peristyle one in the interior zone of the house, with perhaps another or more near the entrance and the rear section. The total number of courtyards in one residence could sometimes be five to six.
There can be few contemporary architects of Pakistan who have sustained more then 30 years of residential design, and who have continued to refine their design approach so that each new house provides surprise, invention and accomplished spatial and experiential theatre. The Hasnain’s residence designed by Architect Akeel Bilgrami is located in an older part of DHA, where an existing family home was demolished to make way for this one. The approach is peaceful under the shade of the trees which were grown by owners while the house was being built and are thus mature ones.
The form is again understated but once it captures your eye one hastens to finally get inside and unravel its mystery. You are welcomed into the house by a wooden colonnade on a mohram path with the greens growing over it providing maximum shade. Instead of finding a regular pergola the architect has used the Islamic star motif to construct the wooden cover over the pathway. The colonnade also marks the division between the walkway and the pergola covered car park on one side and the green lawn on the other.
The feeling of the house is utterly relaxed, Bilgrami wanted to anchor the house in local materials and used in age old ways. The defining qualities of the house are the pleasure of the threshold and the way it is sustained from the exterior to the internal courtyard which holds the house together. One proceeds through a series of gateways, shifting axes, framed vistas, parallel paths, one solid and a water body before finally reaching a climax in the which are undeniably the interior spaces who slowly and gradually turn as interiors since there is a seamless flow from the exterior to the interior.
The trees on the site and the relative peace and quiet in the area have led to an increase in the number of migratory birds in the area. Their musical notes transcend the experience and one does truly feel is away from the hustle bustle of the Megapolitan Karachi even though in such close proximity to the ever busy and loud Sunset boulevard.
The architect has designed three distinct and rich experiences through which one enters the house, the first was the colonnade, and the second comes in the way of a stone form which encloses a scenic entrance court which is entered from its side to enrich the walk through. As one walks through the plantation and the water body the front door beckons and as soon as it opens the third experience, the view of the central courtyard around which the house is built.
The courtyard is intimate, the size being just right for small gatherings of family and friends; it truly is the heart of the house. The master of the house regularly breakfasts there. The courtyard which traditionally has been the heart of the house due to our social setup is a relief to see in the modern house where it shows the sensitivity of the architect and how he overcomes DHA’s often creativity restraining bye laws. The courtyard is also a climatic response, through it cool winds and sun light reach part of the houses where it would not have been possible due to the built mass. It is interesting to note that when climate permits, architects are following in those early modern footsteps by creating houses that fearlessly open up the indoors to the exterior. The courtyard also boasts a small water feature in its center enriching the visual and auditory ambience. The play of light on the textured wall of stone is also another fascinating display which changes hour to hour and even season to season. As night approaches, the courtyard remains only dimly lit by concealed lighting adding to its aura and becomes picturesque setting for candlelit dinners.
Another special aspect of this house is that the stone used was transported from an old house in Civil Lines which was being taken down. It surely is a pleasure when the architect and client have the same foresight for the project. The stone walls thus used in the house are load bearing and the material is completely exposed on the outside. Interestingly enough the exteriors travel inside and form the entertaining areas which also have exposed stone walls internally. This truly adds to the overall aesthetic of the house, a bold and righteous gesture.
As the stone was taken from another existing site it already has aged and aged well. Colour variations in the stone have resulted from exposure to the sun and the lack of it. The client deserves due credit for understanding the nature and behavior of stone as a material and embraced it instead of opposing it. One sees many cases where the client wants the rustic stone and cement plaster look; yet also want it having as unnaturally refined as that of a commercial tile thereby killing the essence of the natural material.
As traditionally is the case lime plaster was and is used for grouting the stone walls, and since stone craftsmen were then unavailable in Karachi, hence craftsmen skilled in this particular field were specially brought in from the Punjab. Future replications of the works by local contractors on the house have been futile and one truly feels master craftsmen should only be entrusted in maintaining the stone work of the building.
The architect and client were both intent on using as much indigenous material as possible, thus terracotta tiles were used for the flooring of the courts, the flooring has complemented the stone and both add to the richness of the house. Due to high cost of dressed stone, the idea of having stone construction was soon dropped and the possibility of working with adobe was pursued. Just when the drawings were finalized, and as the story goes; the client learnt of the ongoing demolition of two large colonial stone bungalows. Without wasting time, a deal was struck with the demolition contractor and much of the stone was purchased, at an affordable price.
The house is a load bearing structure with all external and a few internal walls 14” thick, in stone, dressed on both surfaces in lime mortar. The other peripheral walls have lime sand plaster rendering from inside that is left in its original surface, unpainted. The central courtyard which provides light and ventilation into the rooms also provides a secure, private outdoor space for the family and guests. The use of stone masonry and lime plaster (rendered by a master mason from Multan) has been instrumental in keeping the interior of the house cool during summers and warm during winters.
As with the use of traditional motif in the pergola covered walkway one found remnants of it in other details around the house. The service staircase at the back of the house was cleverly screened by the use of cement jali depicting the same design. Also the pattern is repeated in the wooden jafri which occupy the window openings in the entrance court.
The clients over the years have not been permanent residents of this house due to their offshore commitments. Now that they are back for the foreseeable future a serious effort is going to be made to refine the landscaping and develop the roof terrace. One definitely looks forward to these interventions and will aim to visit the house yet again to view how the house has blossomed in the coming years.
The Hasnain’s residence can be defined in many ways….. a house that was contemporary, yet timeless, energy efficient, climatically appropriate, private and maintenance free. The fascination with the adobe house and Karachi’s colonial stone architecture is resplendent in its articulation.
Over the last ten years, the house has gradually matured, along with the foliage and trees, exuding a sense of timelessness that the clients had originally envisaged. Bilgrami kept the materials basic, reinforced load bearing structure, a specialty of the local construction industry; native sandstone and glass. All of these materials make an intimate connection between the architecture and the site, between the earth and the sky. In these harsh climatic zone, controlling excess sun is more important than creating poetic plays of light and Bilgrami dexterously handled the sun and shade and the overplay of interior to exterior in this stone encrusted courtyard residence.
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