"...

the reality
of architecture
is not
contained in
the roof and
walls, but in
the space
within. It is the
space that is."
- Nari Gandhi

Architect : Nariman Gandhi

1934 - 1993

Nari Gandhi (1934-1993) was an Indian architect

known for his highly innovative works in organic
architecture.
Nariman (Nari) Dossabhai Gandhi was born in
1934 in Surat to a Zoroastrian Parsi family from
Bombay.
Nari completed his schooling at St. Xavier's High
School, Mumbai, and studied architecture at Sir J.
J. College of Architecture, Mumbai for five years in
early 1950s.
He travelled to USA to apprentice with Frank Lloyd
Wright at the Taliesin and spent five years there.

While working in India, Nari continued to work

on Wright's ideology of organic architecture and
further developed his own unique style with a
subtle influence of local climate and culture.
He ceaselessly continued to work on Wright's
idea of 'flowing space'.
Nari worked without an office and rarely made
any drawings for any of his projects.
Nari spent a lot of time on his sites and worked
closely with the craftsmen and often
participated in the construction process himself.
Also known as Howard Roark of India.

Using a
wooden stick as his pencil, he
sketched on the ground to explain his plan.
If he wasnt happy with a construction, he
would immediately tear it down !
His works
character.

display

distinctive

organic

They appear to have evolved as a response to

the context, remaining strongly rooted to the
site and being very well connected to the
surroundings.
Nari's
works
display
highly
craftsmanship and structural ingenuity.

skilled

Each building designed by Nari is as an

example of unconventional thinking in
architecture.
He created built spaces that remained
forever connected to their un-built
surroundings allowing sunlight and
wind to interact with the inside and
animate the space with time.
Each house is a series of dialogs
between the built and the unbuilt.

He has stacked earthen pots to construct

arches out of them and built stairs out of
brick arches.
Throughout his works you see extraordinary
use of stone, brick, wood, glass and leather.
Nari
rejected
conventional
ideas
and
paradigms and introduced his own through
his work.
Through his work, he started 'rethinking'
about standardised practices and set up his
own.
When you visit any one of his houses, you will

Construction
Extensive use of :
Brick Arches
Buttresses
Stone Masonry

VARIOUS PROJECTS
Dawood Shoes Office
Mumbai
Gobhai Mountain Lodge Lonavala
Jain Bungalow Lonavala
Korlai Bungalow Korlai
Madh Island House Madh
Island
Moondust Residence Madh
Island

Gobhai Mountain Lodge, Lonavala

Dawood Shoes Office,

Mumbai

01
Architect : Nariman Gandhi
MOON DUST RESIDENCE,
MADH ISLAND
1969 - 78

Exterior detail of the roof overhang, supported by trusses.

The overhang has rectangular openings and is sheathed in
terracotta tiles

Exterior view taken from

the second storey,
looking to the garden
and the beach

Exterior detail of a roof projection supported by wooden

struts and clad along the edge with flat terracotta tiles

Roof detail showing chipped stonework at the base of the

lower roof and protruding struts to support the deep
overhang

Exterior detail of
terracotta-clad roof corner
with rectangular openings
in the roof

View of the garden

looking to the beach
from beneath deep
roof overhangs

Interior view of the entrance

door with infill of chipped
glass, thin wooden rails, tiles
and precious stones

Detail of a staircase on an arch.

Located in the living room, the stair leads to the bedrooms
on the upper floor

Interior detail of stair

treads resting on a
stone arch; there are
no hand rails on
either side

Interior view of the intersecting stone arches made

from a variety of chipped stones, large boulders, and
terracotta pots

View of the dining area with a mural wall at

left.
Beyond the glazed slanted wall is the beach

Detail of the mural wall: geometric patterns in mud

brick

Detail of the mural wall: a variety of shapes in relief

create a pattern

Interior view with mural

wall ahead and glazed
kitchen wall at right

Interior view looking at a stone wall made in situ

using stone chips, large dressed stones, and
boulders

Interior view: leather-upholstered seat

cushions, a stone wall, and a mirror reflecting
the wall

Interior detail of the living space just below the

roof:
a bench is placed where the roof meets the wall

Exterior detail of the terracotta-tiled roof overhang supported by

numerous struts

Interior detail within the roof, showing the junction of the struts,
rafters, beams, and the glazed slanting wall on the lower storey

Interior view looking upward

at wooden beams and roof
above

02
Architect : Nariman Gandhi
DAYAS BUNGALOW,
REVDANDA
1970S

View of the main living areas set behind the double-arched

opening made from exposed brick

Exterior view of a house adjoining the Revdanda

house, where a double-arched exposed brick faade
has been added !

semi-circular arched verandah

projecting beds on the mezzanine level

main living areas set behind the double-arched brick

wall

seating area

view from the mezzanine level looking at an arch supporting

the roof

Interior view looking at the living area with a small

staircase leading to the mezzanine

Exterior view of the house taken from the landscape in

the backyard

courtyard from the entrance verandah

checkered brick-paved pathway leading to an adjoining

structure that the architect built for himself

Detail of the concentric landscaping done

using inverted terracotta pots in a concrete
bed

Detail of the inverted terracotta pots beside an old

iron gate

Detail of the moss-covered water channel used for

irrigation

03
Architect : Nariman Gandhi
MEHTAS BUNGALOW,
KORLAI
1986 - 88

Exterior view of sea-facing elevation of bungalow; the barrel-vaulted

bedrooms are visible in center and at right. Under the main roof of the
bungalow is the arched pavilion

Exterior view of bungalow taken from the wall of the compound (the sea is
located at right). The vault of one bedroom is visible at center right. Steps lead
up from the garden to the main living area

Exterior view taken from the rear garden (the sea is located at left).
One bedroom is visible at lower left; at center is the main arched pavilion with
its sloping roof

Exterior detail view of the sea-facing elevation of the

arched pavilion.
Below the ridge line of the roof is a balcony leading to the
interior loft.
The pavilion itself is supported by an arcade on the lower
level;
openings in the walls are filled with colored glass

side view of pavilion,

showing the corbelled
buttresses abutting the
arcade. Arcade handrail
is detailed to echo the
buttresses.
Stairwell at the far
corner.

view of the arcade of the pavilion, viewed from within the pavilion.
The stairwell opening, under a projecting roof, is visible at left

view of the living space of the arched pavilion, defined between

the two arches.
A staircase (at left) leads to the overhead viewing room/loft

view from within the pavilion, looking at the roof with its steel
rafters supporting the wooden layer of the Mangalore-tiled roof

view of the pavilion looking at the circular dining area, showing

the chairs with different leg heights designed for the split-level
floor

view of upper level of pavilion, facing the overhead viewing room.

Balconies in the viewing room face the beach and the backyard

view of the ground floor of pavilion, facing the backyard.

At left is built-in seating area complete with integrated handrail

View of a bedroom (below, at right) from the stairwell of the

arched pavilion

View from within the

arcade, at ground level.
The volume of a vaulted
bedroom intersects with
the volume of the kitchen
and the landscaping
platforms of the garden

04
Architect : Nariman Gandhi
DAYAS BUNGALOW,
MADH ISLAND
1980 - 93

Exterior view of the Madh Island house within the

landscape

night view of the Madh Island house, showing 2 of the 3 lit barrel
vaults and terrace canopy against the silhouette of a triangular gate

view from the triangular gate looking at the vaulted

entryway

Detail view of the stone paving at entryway

made with smooth stones from the nearby
beach

Exterior view from the rear-end garden of the house,

overlooking a non-structural stone buttress with large
pots and foliage

Interior night view of entrance from the gateway to the main vaulted
living space

Exterior vew taken from the rear-end garden of the

house showing the non-structural stone arch and main
vaulted living space

Exterior evening view taken from the rear-end garden overlooking

the non-structural stone arch and main vaulted living space

Exterior view from the rear-end garden looking towards the stoneclad main barrel vaulted living space

Interior view of the stone-clad barrel vaulted living space with the
swing suspended from a punctured opening in the vault

Night view of the barrel vaulted living space with the furniture designed by
architect

Night view of the barrel vaulted living space with custom

furniture and strips of light within the floor

swing suspended from a wooden brace in the elliptical opening

elliptical opening in the barrel vault from above; interior floor visible throu
opening

Front view of the barrel

vault with stonework
that integrates large
boulders and plants

Detail view of the chipped stonework and larger stones, cladding

the vault

Detail view of interior

wall surface, showing
chipped stonework
with clay faces

Interior view from the dining vaulted space overlooking

triangular gates with encroaching boulders in foreground and
vegetation beyond

Interior view from the dining vaulted space looking

inwards at the stone table and the glass chipped
bathroom at left

Interior view of a mother-of-pearl awning covering a

massive stone facing a stone platform opposite the
bathroom

Interior view of the bathroom and kitchen platform taken

from the dining barrel-vaulted space

Interior detail view of the bathroom, showing flat chips of glass

- similar to the stonework outside - and circular mosaic tiles
with intermediary stone arches

Interior view looking outwards at the wooden triangular gates

Exterior detail of the wooden gates and smooth stone pavings at the en

sentry statue guarding the

vaulted main spaces in the
background and the
terraced garden above

view of the terraced garden above the barrel-vaulted

spaces

Exterior view of the terraced garden at night.

The mother-of-pearl canopy sits on the crown of the vault

Exterior view of the

terraced garden showing
the chipped stone
pathway, flowerbeds,
and the large mother-ofpearl canopy

the vaulted mother-of-pearl canopy

View from under the mother-of-pearl canopy

Interior of the mother-of-pearl canopy, looking at the lush garden in

the background

Detail of the mother-of-pearl canopy adjoining the foliage and

chipped stonework

Detail view of the mother-of-pearl pieces, which are tied together using t
ropes

Interior view looking upwards at the arrangement of broken

amber-colored bottles forming a skylight ring with chipped
stonework in the foreground

Detail view of a concave-in-centre circular paver block made

from chipped stones that are cast on a bed of plain cement
concrete (p.c.c.)

Detail of view of a convex-in-centre circular paver block made

from chipped stones that are cast on a bed of plain cement
concrete (p.c.c.)

05
Architect : Nariman Gandhi
JAIN HOUSE,
LONAVLA
1989-92

General view of the Jain bungalow, looking at the sloping

roofs set in the undulating terrain

Exterior view of the garage showing the play of mangaloretiled sloping roofs, supported by steel members on the ground

Exterior view from the gate

Exterior view looking upwards at the entrance facing

balcony and mangalore-tiled roof

view of the steel truss-supported roof that

follows the terraced landscaping on site

skylit opening in the roof overhang

Exterior view of the house taken from the lowest end of the slope.
The external wall is made of hand-dressed stone arranged in random
rubble masonry

Interior view of the bedroom wall showing the exposed truss overhead
and elongated polygonal openings set in dressed stone masonry

play of light against a rough stone wall

Interior view looking at the staircase, which is set behind a stone

buttress with horizontal bands of polished stone and wood

Interior view looking towards the card room with a hemispherical

grilled opening

Interior view looking outwards through an elliptical

window

Interior view looking at a variety of openings set in stone masonry

Detail view of chipped stonework used for cladding wall surfaces

Interior view looking at the

flight of stairs leading to the
main living spaces of the house

Detail view of the

staircase with the
curvilinear forms of
openings, pots, and
arches around it

Detail view of the skylit court and its chipped stonework, with built-in
planter beds surrounded by circular openings and a blue glass-chipped
hemisphere

circular colored glass infills in a bathroom

nari gandhi
. . . the different mind
!

THANK YOU
BySupriya
Rutuja Mahalle
Apurva Madelwar
Shruti Agrawal
Snehal Bhange
Shruti Gosewade