‘Diya’ is a family home in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, for a young couple, their parents and their daughter of 9. Ahmedabad, is predominantly dry through the year, though it does rain occasionally during monsoon months, from late June to August. The architecture deploys a curious combination of thick rammed earth walls and a perforated Corten Steel envelope to mitigate the intense heat.
Diya emerged from the challenge offered by extreme climate and a fascination with historic traditions of craftsmanship. It is a chronicle of innovation, beautiful memories of making, pleasurable meetings, mock-ups, successes and a few failures, a sense of the entire team accomplishing a new level of awareness together, builders, carpenters, stone layers, metal smiths, polishers, gardeners, the clients and us the architects.
Photographs: Edmund Sumners, PHX India, Umang Shah & javiercallejas.com