Lenka House / Khosla Associates

In this Bengaluru home, located in an exclusive gated community in the eastern part of the city, our first impulse was to respond to the leafy neighborhood, especially the row of majestic Kadamba fruit trees on the road that flanks its north entrance. We were keen on a vocabulary of natural materials and an architectural expression that would gently step up from the street. The 100 ft long north boundary wall takes the form of a stone Jaali, crafted entirely out of local Sadharhalli stone by skilled masons. It is a contemporary reference to the liberal use of this stone as means of securing land in rural Karnataka. The repetitive vertical pieces of stone interlock into horizontal bands with tongue and groove joinery and an absence of mortar, referencing the age-old traditional techniques of stone building in the region. A central entrance portal with a yellow door and polished cement surround punctuates the Jaali and guides one into an entrance court and then to the main door.