WHEN WAS MODERNISM?

WITH A TITLE REFERENCING A BOOK BY HISTORIAN HOME IN GEETA KAPUR, THIS MODERNIST AHMEDABAD, BUILT IN THE 1 9 7 0 S AND RESTORED RECENTLY BY AD 1 0 0 ARCHITECT KUNAL SHAH IS A REMINDER OF A CLASSIC DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE THAT AN ENTIRE IN A GENERATION OF INDIANS GREW UP MODERNISM THAT IS TIMELESS, THAT WE ADAPTED TO SUIT OUR CULTURE, CLIMATE, MATERIALS AND OUR DOMESTIC RITUALS. THIS IS FOUZDAR, A GRANDFATHER'S HOME.

- KOMAL SHARMA

Fouzdar House, situated in Navrangpura, an older suburb of Ahmedabad, has seen better days. It stands in a neighbourhood that has over the years given way to high-rise buildings. Built in 1971 by the current owner’s grandfather with a local architect, it was meant as a safe haven for both of his sons. It’s for nostalgia, perhaps, and the memory of their grandfather, that the family decided not to redevelop the place but to renovate it, stay true to its essential character, and preserve its beauty for themselves, as well as family and friends.

Built in a modernist style with clean lines, spacious rooms, and adjoining bathrooms, this six-bedroom home, with verandas generously added on all sides to allow for cross-ventilation and light, has survived with its good bones for 50 years now. The owners were careful with their choice of architect—someone whose interventions would be minimal and sensitive. So Kunal Shah, a designer and a friend of the family, was invited. Shah’s journey, as he himself continues to discover over time, has been about the relationship between austerity and opulence.

As you enter the compound, you glimpse the home surrounded by Ashoka trees. The original terrazzo floors have been restored almost throughout, except in parts where it was too damaged—for instance, the veranda, where it was replaced with a complementary smallcut kota stone that is locally available.

“Ahmedabad is a very dusty city. In Gujarati we say, ‘dhuliyo gaam’, a dusty village, and Kota stone is forgiving,” says Shah. On the veranda, hangs an expertly crafted, Nakashima-inspired swing by Maneesh Jangid, a master carpenter.