A moodboard of pastels is how you could possibly describe this Jaipur residence; its salmon pink sandstone facade completely enhances the sensible blue of the Jaipur morning sky. However as architect Kamal Malik factors out, a fairly aesthetic isn’t the fabric’s solely asset. 

It is usually a sustainable rebuttal to fashionable constructing methods and the toll they tackle the planet’s carbon footprint. The ‘Stone Home’, although a newcomer on the panorama — constructed in 2019 — appears virtually as if it has all the time been a mainstay on the Jaipur horizon. 

This, says Malik, owes to the truth that stone building is tied to the metropolis’s architectural legacy. Rajasthan has lengthy been a hub for quarries producing pink stone, which options in varied monuments throughout the town, together with the long-lasting Hawa Mahal, inbuilt 1799. Individuals affiliate pink stone with Rajasthan’s legacy, and that is most likely what lends the residence a way of familiarity. It’s like revisiting a little bit of historical past. 

A fast flick through Malik’s structure tasks — he’s the founding father of the 49-year-old Mumbai-based Malik Structure — underscores how the native setting is integral to every challenge. Born and raised in Shimla, nature was his greatest pal rising up. And right this moment, it continues to be his inspiration throughout the tasks he undertakes. 

Within the case of the Stone Home, that is evident. Whenever you step in, you’ll really feel as in case you’re again within the womb of ecology. 

One choice, to attain this, he says, was to go the normal route: construct concrete partitions and clad them in stone and plaster from the skin. “However our ancestors have been constructing with stone for years. Should you take a look at the town, you’ll see palaces, forts, and houses all constructed utilizing this native materials. And so, once I instructed utilizing stone to construct, I wasn’t suggesting one thing novel or out of the blue. The supply is from the area itself,” Malik says. 

Nonetheless, when Malik pitched the thought to his shopper, a descendant of Rajasthan’s royal household of Dundlod, he was met with a number of well-warranted questions. “Will it’s too complicated? How will we discover artisans who’ve labored on stone buildings earlier than? Will it’s too pricey?” 

Whereas Malik managed to assuage the value considerations — “I informed him we wouldn’t be spending way more than what a traditional construction would value” — the priority in regards to the artisans was actual. And in fixing for that’s the place the success of the challenge lies. 

Royalty and performance mix on this Jaipur dwelling 

“The home continues to shock me,” Veer Vijay Singh, who lives right here along with his household, shares. “Whenever you do one thing like this, it’s very totally different. These are the type of houses that was constructed a whole lot of years in the past. In summer season, it stays cool, particularly the basement, which doesn’t really feel like a basement in any respect, due to the backyard Kamal has put there. In winter, because the solar’s route adjustments, the home windows are set accordingly to let daylight into the house.”

As you enter the house, the very first thing that can strike you is its quick sense of breadth. Credit score goes to the arches, the expansive doorways and the spacing. No cement has been used for the challenge, Malik explains. “We used lime. It’s domestically obtainable and has been used for hundreds of years earlier than cement was found.” 

However, as Malik learnt from the native craftsmen, there’s a knack to utilizing lime as a constructing materials. “It must be blended with candy water. If it’s blended with saline water, it can deteriorate the standard of the lime. For hundreds of years, lime has been used with stone, contemplating their pure binding affinity for one another.” 

And the home repackages the vitality of those conventional methods. 

The development is load-bearing, Malik explains. The impermeable, thick partitions make this potential. However the query was how you can keep the thickness of the partitions whereas minimising the quantity of stone getting used. “To make our partitions akin to the 18-inch partitions which might be present in different stone constructions, we had two slabs of six inches every separated by a six-inch cavity. We bonded this along with gun steel ties (steel shear pins and ties to carry the 2 sides of the cavity collectively, making the constructing earthquake-resistant) in order that your entire factor would act like an 18-inch wall. This fashion, we have been in a position to scale back stone, and we might run our pipe companies by means of the hole,” the architect explains.   

The hole interlocking structural wall system not solely lowered materials consumption by 30 %, but in addition offered insulation, Malik explains. “Roughly a 5 to seven diploma Celsius variation will be noticed between the outside and inside,” he says. Whereas the climate exterior juggles harsh solar and unpredictable chilly, the house stays cocooned. 

Paying a go to to the craftsmen of Jaipur 

In Rajasthan, because the dreamers gave strategy to builders, the structure started to mirror this. Pink sandstone was changed with cement. And so, the key lay to find the proper craftspeople.

“These artisans have been as soon as valued and treasured. This has seen a shift. So, we determined to interrupt the cycle. We determined to work with the artisans straight and pay them straight. It not less than ensures some chance that they may keep within the occupation if they’re given respect and livelihood. Or we might danger shedding this generational facet of information that has been handed down,” Malik causes. 

Having the artisans work with them carefully lent the challenge perfection. “Should you take a look at stone as a fabric, there are totally different sorts. Some are smooth, some are more durable, some are porous. It’s worthwhile to gauge the load-bearing energy of every sort. Some stones measured 16 ft, and bringing them from the quarry after which shaping them required craftsmanship, and that’s the place the artisans performed a task. Every little thing is hand performed.” 

It’s these options that make the house particular. 

The jalis (latticed home windows) are impressed by the Hawa Mahal’s design, which, whereas permitting the folks inside to watch the happenings exterior the window, gave them privateness from the skin. However its position can also be useful, Malik says. These stop the tough summer season solar from discovering its approach in, whereas nonetheless permitting gentle to filter by means of. 

“They supply a beautiful play of sunshine and shade because the solar strikes by means of the day. The best way gentle performs with a construction transforms it from a static entity to one thing that has motion.” Malik loves encouraging daylight into the tasks he builds. That is additionally why the home options a big courtyard, which immerses it in considerable pure gentle and makes for excellent cross air flow. 

Not simply Veer, but in addition nature loves the house. “It’s so open, and the stone attracts loads of pigeons, parrots and squirrels.” Malik concedes, including that this half is vital. In spite of everything, he says, “A home is not only a constructing. It’s a dwelling being which is able to play host to a complete technology.” 

Edited by Khushi Arora; All photos courtesy Kamal Malik