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Mud House

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H.No. 1109, Sector 11, Panchkula, Haryana A house that looks like mud… but refuses to age. Designed and constructed by Metamorphosis Architecture in 1999, the House is often mistaken for a mud house — but appearances can be deliciously deceptive. Built for an engineer friend in Panchkula, this compact 1350 sq. ft. residence was completed for under ₹5 lakhs — a figure that still raises eyebrows today. And yet, this modest budget produced a home with everything a family could want: 3 bedrooms with attached toilets, a full-width living room overlooking the street, a central dining area, kitchen, lobby, and most importantly — a lush internal courtyard that breathes life into the house. The courtyard is packed with dense greenery, herbs, and oxygen-rich plants, turning the heart of the home into a cool, living oasis. Every room borrows light, air, and calm from this central green pocket. But beneath its earthy, almost primitive appearance lies something remarkably forward-thinking. Years be...
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Residence for Mr. Pradeep Jain

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House Rear   RESIDENCE FOR Mr PRADEEP JAIN   Location: Sector 28,  Chandigarh Year of Construction : 2005 So the old sewage connection was retained..........basically to save oneself from harassment from the sharks in the various departments connected with house sanction, and concomitant procedures.  The plot was a large one – upwards of around 1500 sq yds. - which could  qualify locally as a 3 kanal house. (1 kanal = 1/8 of an acre = 4840/8=605 sq yds.)  We’ll not get into the travails of getting the plot transferred to oneself, and the subsequent sanction of the building plans – but it was relatively easy compared to the norm – thanx to a dynamic young AEO in the Estate Office.  Since the Owner was based in Ambala, the plans for the house were relatively simple – considering that the construction firm was based out of Meerut........!!! So the program was for the house to be born out of 9 squares of around 16’ side each, (the traditional Vastu Purusha...
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Location: Sector 28, Chandigarh, 160028, India
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Sustainable Residence utilizing Geothermal Energy

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Google Map location RESIDENCE FOR CAPT. REET M P SINGH, VrC 1965   Location: H.No. 303, Urban Estate, Patiala Year of completion : 2009 The current generation, have no idea really what it means to go to battle, or fight a war. In fact, most civvies in India have almost no idea about the Indian Army, or what it actually does – except that they are meant to protect the Nation (including it’s corrupt babus & netas). We were lucky to have met him at a function of ‘The War Disabled’ decades ago at CSIO. Punjab has a large number of soldiers who faced the brunt of the  wars with Pakistan – including the one in 1965 -  which came as a surprise move after a feint in the region of the Kutch. With Lal Bahadur Shastri as the PM vs Ayub Khan in Pakistan. The Pakis had then attacked in division strength in the North, where Punjab borders J&K. And it was here that famous tank battle of Khem Karan was fought. And Capt Reet MP Singh was there. All of 22 years old, and...
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Location: Urban Estate, Patiala, Punjab 147002, India
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Sustainable Residence with Passive Solar Heating and cooling

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H.No. 1484 Sector 40-B Chandigarh  A TWENTY YEAR OLD HOUSE We ended up as the "replacement architects" for a house being constructed in Ph 2, Chandigarh. The owners were from Patiala, and were not getting the kind of service they were looking - viz. proper oversight of the ongoing construction - starting with a basement. That's when we were pulled into the project - more as in a PMC role rather than pure architecture. First thing - we made sure that the basement walls were properly waterproofed from the outside, along with its protection layers, and with subsoil drainage. Then we ensured that the back-fill was done properly - in layers of of around 3-4" thick (it was a mud-sand mix) And most importantly - we had brick walls starting at the basement foundation levels to ensure that the abutting walls did NOT SINK INTO THE SOIL OVER THE YEARS because of soil settlement. Beams were also placed at the junction of these walls - to ensure stability. At the regular Plinth l...
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Location: Chandigarh, India
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M Residence

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M Residence (Residential Project) Constructed 1999 Location :Chandigarh A House Shaped by Frugal Engineering and Expansive Imagination I had designed his factory years earlier — and he must have been pleased with the outcome. A 6,000 sq. ft. multi-storied factory conceived for an entirely new product line, marking a decisive shift from decades of manufacturing a declining product. A careful analysis of the production dynamics led to a vertical organization of spaces, with multiple floor plates interconnected through the sequence of manufacturing operations. The heavy-duty work was concentrated in the basement, where storage for steel and brass raw materials and components was planned. Remarkably, the entire structure stood on just ten columns, each with a mere 30 cm square cross-section — a fact that still gives one nightmares. At the time, it was also the tallest structure in the area. That same philosophy of frugal engineering later became the guiding principle for an addition to t...
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Location: Chandigarh, India
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