Prominent features of the façade are the use of texture and of light and shadow to accentuate simple forms, like the honeycomb compound wall, the wooden pergola, and the horizontal louvers.

   You could describe the house Hiren designed in Ahmedabad for the Kaushik Shah family four as a play of spaces. Situated in an up market area of the city, surrounded by large homes, this relatively small house stands out from its neighbours, with its high plinth, clear form and bright use of colours.

   Although its exterior looks small, the public areas inside are really spacious, whereas the private spaces are compact and functional. Some of the rooms were deliberately made smaller, to allow for a wide garden in front. A long extensive verandah next to the courtyard with a traditional Tulsi plant sets the mood of welcome.

   As one enters the house, the drawing room gives a feeling of an expansive space. It opens out into the garden and has a charming seating alcove glowing with warmth from the skylights above.

   A double – height dining room, facing the east, has louvers that let in the morning light. Here too there is a small seating area with a traditional Gujarati swing. This space opens out to a tranquil pebble – covered courtyard with a Zen – like ambience.

   The ground floor also houses a kitchen and small bedroom. Throughout the house, Hiren has designed the bedrooms to be compact, to reduce the cost of air-conditioning during the hot Ahmedabad summers.

   Moving upstairs, a study and library area overlook an open-to-sky private terrace, just right for sleeping outdoors. Though the two master bedrooms with spacious bathrooms are compact, Hiren has created a felling of openness with a high gable roof.

   Since Hiren believes that landscape plays a vital role in residential architecture, he always ensures there are plenty of outdoor spaces in the housed he designs, and ambience keeps changing as the landscape evolves.

   Hiren is particularly appreciative of Ahmedabad’s unique heritage of modern architecture – a lineage that started during the prosperous textile era with the private villas designed by Le Corbusier and Kahn and continued with Kanvinde, Doshi and Correa. He concludes, ‘When designing a house, I consider the context, climate orientation and lighting before arriving at the form and style. I filter out whatever I come to realize is unnecessary in order to make the design as simple and as flexible as possible. A high degree of confidence lies behind what is a simple but logical design.’

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