Home tour: a multigenerational Nagpur residence draws on northern India’s courtyard house tradition to manage heat and foster togetherness

Those associations were direct. The Jains held particular attachment to the haveli, the large courtyard house vernacular to much of western and northern India, characterised by communal gathering spaces, projecting balconies called jharokhe, and intricately worked stone or brick screens, known as jaaliyan, that filter harsh sunlight while permitting airflow.

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The timber-framed wada houses of Maharashtra offered a secondary reference point. Both traditions had evolved partly in response to the same problem the architects now faced: how to admit light without admitting the heat.

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Their solution runs the full height of the building. The exterior is wrapped in operable timber lattices whose geometric patterns are drawn from abstracted vernacular motifs. The material is accoya pine, a high-performance softwood sourced from FSC-certified forests in New Zealand. The choice was deliberate: sustainable hardwood forestry is limited in India, and teak’s slow growth rate makes it a poor candidate for large-scale use.

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Accoya, pre-treated for moisture and termite resistance, carries a 50-year warranty for external use and functions as a modern-system window, with sliding and folding panels that can be operated individually, and fitted with mosquito mesh or glazed inserts as needed. The lattices cast shifting patterns of light and shadow across the interiors throughout the day, performing the same climatic and visual work as the jaaliyan they reference.

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Inside, the formal counterpart to the exterior screen is the central atrium, an eight-foot-wide vertical slot that cuts through all six floors and is capped by a skylight. Its proportions were determined through a detailed study of sun angles across the seasons, calibrated to draw diffused light down to the ground-floor informal living area without introducing direct solar gain. 

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The atrium functions as the social core of the house: sound and sightlines travel across all levels, and the semi-private corridors that ring it on each floor are fitted with carved niches displaying curated artworks, so that each pass between bedroom and staircase involves a moment of pause rather than simple transit.

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The programme is distributed vertically with considerable specificity. The grandmother’s suite and main kitchen occupy the ground floor, with direct access to outdoor spaces given over to dining, lounging, and a garden. Her preference to remain connected to the earth and to participate in cooking and gardening determined the arrangement. The three floors above are allocated to the older son’s family, the younger son’s family, and the grandson, respectively.

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Each level contains two master bedrooms positioned at the southwest and southeast corners, a guest room, a formal living room, a pantry, and a shared terrace along the north elevation, overlooking a garden laid out on the site of an earlier bungalow the family had occupied. The bedrooms are set back behind eight-foot-deep balconies that serve as both a buffer against the heat and rain, and as a spatial extension. One-third of each balcony area is configured as a jharokha, positioned differently across levels to avoid regularity in the facade.

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The fifth floor is designed as a guest and entertainment level, with living and dining areas that can accommodate gatherings of up to 20 people. The topmost floor, recessed and fully glazed within a hipped-roof structure, contains a spa, jacuzzi and gymnasium, wrapped by a planted deck with views across the city.

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The material palette runs through recycled Burma teak in a fluted surface treatment, white Esil marble, and brass. The teak appears in panelling, atrium railings and brise-soleil elements, executed by local carpenters working on-site. Bath surfaces in each suite feature CNC-carved marble bearing motifs drawn from regional saree weave patterns and stone carvings from historical structures; the same ornamental vocabulary, which moved from cloth and stonework, is translated into a polished surface underfoot.

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Furniture is custom throughout, with rounded, contemporary silhouettes upholstered in beige and grey, except for the grandson’s suite, which is finished in black. Decorative lighting is custom-made in brass and glass. 

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The built area totals a sprawling 20,000 sq ft. That figure alone distinguishes the Light House from most urban housing in India, or anywhere. What is less common, at that scale, is the degree to which the planning answers to particular people: the grandmother’s proximity to her garden, the corridors designed for the art on their walls, and the lattices adjusted floor by floor for each family’s preferences for light, air, and privacy.

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