Informed by both Western and Eastern designs, Kamala House was named after architect Balkrishna Doshi’s wife, and is the architect’s personal residence. Doshi relies on a sustainable and economical approach. Natural light is maximized and streams throughout, while cavity walls trap and minimize heat.
The architect's search for identity culminated in the story of "four columns and a staircase" in a brick kiln. This became the basis for the design of his family home. The economical house uses local brick as basic material for construction and has proper orientation for climate control. Cross grid of the square plan is supported by four square columns with load bearing brick-walls and brick cavity-walls on the periphery. Dynamic square volumes within the cross plan change spaces into living, dining and bedroom which open to the garden as places of views and ventilation. During the evening, opening major spaces towards the rear garden transforms the house into a pavilion in a garden setting. The tiny scale of less than two stories gives the house a unique character.
