MEMORY LANE
Words ameta bal pradhan
As a child, I used to loathe my family’s annual trips to our ancestral village in Punjab. A die-hard city kid, I did not have much appreciation for the green or pink painted walls, the squeaky four poster rope beds, the undulated crude flooring, the loquacious courtyard congregations and most of all the outdoor or absent bathroom. (Not to mention the omnipresence of cow dung.) To be totally honest, I still haven’t changed my opinion much. What I have done, is learnt forbearance and nostalgia, that provision which comes free with age. I might not get nostalgic about all the things I specifically listed earlier, but I am allowed to invest some fondness in my memory of that quaint village house. And after living in numerous houses in numerous cities in India, particularly the two metropolises Delhi and Mumbai, it isn’t hard to yearn for that which is perhaps forever lost to us fast-paced, short memory-spanned city dwellers. Click here to read more 

IN THE BLENDER
Words pragya priyali
When human invention meets the design of nature, what comes out is usually no less than a visual spectacle. The Next Gene 20 project is currently one of the ventures on show at the prestigious 11th International Architecture Biennale in Venice. It is an endeavour undertaken by 20 accomplished architects from around the world to try and combine the beauty of nature and the scope of human imagination. The 20 villas conceptualised by Taiwanese and international architects are an exercise in exploring the relationship between living spaces and nature.

This massive exercise had a simple thought behind it – to create architectural designs for houses that would let their inhabitants get closer to nature; and the importance of modern architecture to blend into the natural environment. Lu Tai-Nien, President, Genuine Development Asset Management Co. Ltd, came up with the idea to address...Click here to read more 

PASTORAL PANORAMA
Words preetika mathew

It’s understandable why businessman Anant Bir Singh, 54, says his favourite pastime is sitting in his verandah and reading a book. As commonplace as it may seem, I can comprehend the eagerness with which he looks forward to this simple activity. After all, it’s not usual to glance up, while reading, and see a peacock strut across. Or to enjoy the view of mango trees laden with fruit. Or see dense green foliage in place of a concrete jungle. The fact that his verandah is privy to such a panorama, could account, to an extent, for his love for reading. And the fact that he doesn’t get to do it as often as he wants is really a shame.
The Simple Life
This thatched colonial home, on the outskirts of the urban chaos of Bareilly, spills old world charm. Its location on the romantically-named Serpentine Road (now Thimayya Road) in the cantonment area ensures that it receives a fair share of second glances.Click here to read more

RACING AHEAD
Words pragya priyali
It’s Sunday morning and the rattling engine of your car has been annoying you all through last week. But you’ve had a back-breaking week and are in desperate need of a massage and some overdue grooming. You have two options. Go to the salon/massage parlour but keep your ears plugged, while driving, till next Sunday; or take the car to the garage, and just glumly trudge along to work the next seven days. But Delhi-based architect duo Kapil Aggarwal and Nikhil Kant, and businessman Rahul Parikh, have come up with a solution to just such a dilemma, by introducing the novel concept of a Car Beauty Salon.

A brainchild of Parikh, who has been in the auto industry for over a decade, this idea sprouted out of his power of observation. Every time customers came to his store on the weekend, for reasons ranging from car maintenance to accessory shopping, he could not help but notice their impatience and listlessness. Click here to read more 

SKY LIGHT, SKY BRIGHT
Words nishtha kalra
Dial a direct line to the sky. With a skylight as a part of your living space, the imagination gets a free run, the stars speak to you and the bane of modern living, the TV can be finally put in its place (in a corner without an electrical connection). Or let’s just say, for those who want to bring an illusion of space into small living quarters, or crave the light of the sun, or simply want a room with a different view, skylights are the answer.

Drilling a hole in your ceiling is not as onerous as it sounds. Architecture and climate are the only two factors to be taken into consideration while opting for a window facing the sky. The placement of the skylight should be determined by the genre of romance your roof shares with the sun. It can substitute a lullaby if positioned right above the bed, in a top floor bedroom. It can be a replacement for artificial light fixtures when positioned above the living room. Click here to read more 

SPIRITED AWAY
Words preetika mathew

Pack the tent away, keep the sleeping bags aside. You won’t require a lantern and a stove is an unnecessary burden; this camping trip is really just about packing your rucksack and taking your nature-inclined self to unwind aboard an air-borne sphere. If ‘a tree house suspended in air’ is a phrase that describes it best, then so be it. Hanging from trees, these Free Spirit Spheres allow one to not just view nature but to set up home right in the middle of it. These unconventional living spaces marry the excitement of the wild outdoors with the luxury of insulation and a fully functional kitchen. We’re not yet counting the brownie points they deserve for exceptional design.

Bio Conspiracy
Outdoor living of a different kind, a Free Spirit Sphere essentially follows the premise of providing a ‘natural’ living space, while consuming the least possible natural resources Click here to read more