Innovative Transformation

This was an existing house with typical sloping roofs located in a popular residential neighborhood of Pune. Initially, it was home to nine members representing three generations of the family. The client’s brief for NDDC was the creation of three separate houses on that plot of land: one for himself and two for his children and their respective families. The idea was for the family to live together yet with each unit having its individual space, to facilitate day-to-day interaction as well as privacy.

NDDC, after studying these requirements and having taken into consideration the three Rs of sustainability (reduce, reuse, and recycle), suggested to the family that the old structure be retained with a few extensions being added in its footprint. By doing so, NDDC would be able to save approximately one and a half crore of rupees for the client, for which the client expressed their gratitude in profuse terms.

The standard expectation comprised stilt + three apartments on each floor. Although it was a challenge to fit these houses within the existing footprint, NDDC achieved it successfully and to the complete satisfaction of the client. The existing house has now been divided into three apartments with common areas such as a multipurpose hall, a small office, and lobbies, etc, which can be shared among the three units of the family. While the younger son has his apartment on the ground floor, adjacent to the aforementioned common areas, the elder son and the client have individual apartments on the first floor.

The use of natural material such as stone flooring and brick cladding, etc, add to the renewed charm of the house. Hardscaped areas on the east and landscaped areas on the west create a welcome variety for the beholder. All the old trees standing on this site have been retained and they certainly help in keeping the ambient temperature in check.

The roofs are re-organised in such a way that all the storm-water is collected in different channels or gutters. They are then diverted to down-take pipes are various locations, which are fitted with modern storm-water filters. This filtered water in then collected in a large underwater tank of a capacity of almost 1,00,000 liters. This recycled water is mostly used to cater the needs of the large landscaped areas, car wash & other miscellaneous activities, thus reducing the dependency on the supply of fresh & clean water for the same.

While executing this innovative transformation, NDDC was keen on reducing the amount of waste generated as much as possible and to improve the overall waste management processes and programmers. Needless to say, it is highly essential for a sustainable life. All we need is to bring about a small change in our daily lifestyle to reduce waste so that less and less of it goes to landfill. This can also help in reducing our carbon footprint.