(HIREN PATEL TAKES IN TO ACCOUNT THE LANDSAPING AND PLOT SIZE WHILE DESIGN )

Ahmedabad is often called the Mecca of architecture in India. And not without reason. The master of modern architecture, from Bernard Kohn, Louis Kahn and Le Corbusier to Charles Correa and Achyut Kanvinde not only worked here but has also left an enduring legacy of their buildings. Even today some of the most widely respected Indian Architects hall from this city including Bal Krishna Doshi, Kamal Mangaldas, Louis Perrier and Bimal Patel. Besides, Ahmedabad is home to one of the most respected architecture schools: Center for Environment Planning and Technology.

With a booming economy and an equally resurgent real estate market, there is sharp increase in the requirement residential bungalows in Ahemedabad. The city’s satellite and Sarkhej-Gandhinagar highway and the Sardar Patel ring road have seen an explosion of bungalows in the past year, giving local architects the full rein to exhibit their skills.

There are roughly three type of bungalow owner-those who like understated utilitarian designs, those who want something showy and grandiose and those who want to make a social statement with there home. The Sindis and Marwadis with greater disposable incomes, love imposing bungalows. While falling into the other two categories are spread across the board in the Gujarat community.

The upshot is a maze of bungalow design, some of them jazzy, some grotesque, and some polished and practical. But some thing that is unmistakable to the eye is the variety of bungalow designs that are doting the state capitol. When it comes to group bungalow scheme architects like Hiren Patel (41), Dilip Soni (49), Apurva Amin (37) Milan Bhat (48), have emerged as the pick of the local builders who have launched a series of group bungalow schemes. In a sharp change from the past when the Ahmedabad builders, used to cut corners and force architects today are finding enough freedom and room to experiment and improve upon the quality of bungalows and their designs.

If Soni is getting full room to play with ornamental architecture in the form of elevations inspired by Victorian architecture replete with columns, arches, domes and cornice, Patel and Amin are enjoying the space they are getting for their modern and contemporary designs. Thanks to this new trend, Bhat, too is displaying the full repertoire at his command to indulge in his personal style which has ornamentation but one that emerges from within unlike Soni’s.

Take for example a new bungalow scheme called Vraj Gardens design by Hiren Patel and constructed by Vyasti Builders which offers 380-square yard bungalows in 1,400sq yard plots. It’s gem of a modern design amid a beautifully landscaped garden that leaves no barrier between the exterior and the interior. The seemingly barrier-less house makers you feel as if you where in a garden even when inside. This is done with the use of skylight and walking corridors that literally merge the house with the garden outside. The exterior of the house has geometrical design and is made up of brick work and concrete finish besides stone cladding. As the scheme is slightly far from the main Ahmedabad city on the other side of the Sardar Patel Ring Road, initially buyers booked it to us as a weekend farm houses. But today many of them have decided to move in permanently, charmed by its ambience. Says Patel: “when I design a house I take into account the landscape and the plot size. What emerges is therefore environmentally sound.”

Another work of Patel’s which is creating a waves is the club house which he has made for a housing colony called Swagat City on Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar highway. It’s being labeled as the most jazzy amongst the new club houses, it boasts a floating roof over a glass cube and is visually highly captivating.

The sample house that Dilip soni haws designed for Green Ville-III, a bungalow scheme of Swagat builders on the Sardar Patel Ring Road is the latest attraction on Ahmedabad’s bungalow scene. Called the “White House” by many, it is snow white in colour and designed in a Victorian style, completely with a huge dome. The 650 sq yard houses in a 1,750sq yard plot has four bedroom and three huge balconies on the first floor, which give it quit a regal look.

The upper bed rooms which have tiled roofs, have larger walk-in changing room attached to the bathroom. Tarun Verma of Swagat builders wanted Soni to make a regal sample house which would simply dazzle the buyers. To the common man’s eyes this bungalow literally fits the bill. Some many find Soni’s design too ornamental and not modern or innovative enough. But the fact remains that he is the most sought-after architect in Ahmedabad’s building community. Says Varma: “Ultimately, a house should sell. And Soni’s design do that very well indeed.”

Apurva Amin, the youngest of the lot is popular for his modern concepts which respect the environment. His style in a way is closer to that of Patel but different in the sense that he prefers a water body within the houses, and often uses exposed brick and steel in outer elevations. Patel uses sky light in the interiors only when he thinks necessary but Amin loves sky lights. One group bungalow scheme designed by Amin is the Rivera put up by one of Ahmedabad’s leading builders, Goyal Construction.

Rivera has a open to sky court yard with a tree and the overall design is very sleek and functional. It takes cares of privacy and cross ventilation quite innovatively. Another interesting aspect of Riverra design is the way he has designed the gym in the basement. Amin has given the sky-light option in the basement, thus making it lit and ventilated up in sharp contrast to conventional basement which are dark and musty. Abhishek and Adarsh, two new bungalows scheme designed by Amin, also reinforce to his originality. Says Amin bluntly “We try to innovate and evolve within the parametere of modern architecture and known what goes into it.”

Says Milan Bhatt, a leading Ahmedabad architect who brought the group bungalow concept to Ahmedabad in 1985 but who is now more into designing commercial buildings than bungalows: “Intence intellectually competition between architects is leading to variety in design. It is forcing the architects to be innovative. And some of the vibrancy in design one sees can also be attributed to the overpowering impact of the great masters of the past who worked in Ahmedabad.” But in the same breath Bhat, who designed Ashwamegh Bungalows, Ahmedabad’s first ever group bungalow scheme for NG Constructions in 1986, rules that some of the ‘over ornamental’ stuff that one is seeing today is not in keeping with sound architectural principles.

The push bungalows that Bhatt has designed on the Bopal Road represents a style that is typical to him. The 300-yard bungalows have classical elevation which tiled roof, big verandahs, large wooden door frames. The elevations emerge from the design and are unlike the elevations that Soni experiments with.

Significantly, a new style that Soni introduced some time ago in designing of group bungalow in circular form around the club houses and party plot. The design has become quit popular. Several bungalows scheme like Sugam, Aryatvarta and Shivalik, (many of them designed by Soni) adhere to this style. Says Soni: “It brings people living in the colony closer because despite the bungalow owners having their own compounds they can see each other from their balconies. It’s closest to the atmosphere in the old Ahmedabadi poles (lanes).”

And in this boom time buyers too, seem to spend the money to be able to demand quality. Says Patel: “The new trend shows that the buyers are not willing to compromise on quality at all.” Clearly, Ahmedabad’s bungalow scene is hotting up.

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