Piano House - an ode to the love of music…

By Anuradha K R

Photography: Courtesy the architect

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Ar. Dhananjay Shinde’s team gives shape to a music-lover’s inarticulate desire to immerse himself in surroundings that articulate his love...

‘Piano House’, a 2940 sq. ft. weekend home, built on a 10000 sq.mt plot, facing the backwaters of Gangapur Dam in Nashik derives its name from the spacious 1000 sq.ft piano-shaped deck of the house.  That an 180⁰-view was what the owners primarily had in mind, while assigning the job to the architects doesn’t come as a surprise, as the plot is blessed with awe-inspiring surroundings.

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Oriented towards the north, making it privy to a panoramic view of the waterfront, the interiors are advantaged with glare-free light all day long, and a splendid view of the sunset. The most important part of the thematic, the piano deck, is positioned here, wrapping around two sides. The theme has found expression elsewhere in the house too, with its flight of stairs resembling the reeds of a piano and its stringed railings, enhancing the lyrical environment.

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Linear design, on the lines of a railway bogey is adopted, in order to offer a view of the waterfront to every room, with a well-designed passage and staircase at the rear, southern side, connecting the components. An inside-out orientation of the house, with its entrance positioned on the rear-side, helps to maximise the ‘view’ in all the rooms. An artificial water-body on the northern side, with an adjacent pavilion sets the stage for fun-filled parties outdoors.

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The flooring is finished with laser-cut, matt-finish ceramic tiles indoors and Khaki Shahabad stone with antique polish on the deck. Simple layout with no false ceilings and basic furniture with laminate-finish help the house earn a ‘maintenance-friendly’ tag, an absolute necessity for a weekend home. A dumbwaiter connects the kitchen on the ground floor with the pantry on first floor, guarding the privacy of its inmates. 

A house that ‘strikes a chord’!