Lantern House

The Lantern House reimagines an existing Delhi bungalow on a compact four-hundred-square-yard plot beside a busy railway corridor, turning conditions of noise, proximity, and exposure into the basis of a more inwardly composed domestic world. What might have remained a difficult urban edge is instead transformed into an atmosphere of unusual calm through a carefully orchestrated interplay of landscape, enclosure, and light.

The most decisive gesture is the creation of a dense green buffer along the rail-facing boundary. Tall planting forms both acoustic and visual protection, establishing a living threshold that screens the house from its immediate context while giving it a more enveloped relationship to nature. Performance glazing and strategically placed louvres deepen this sense of refuge, tempering sound and preserving privacy without compromising daylight. The result is not a sealed interior, but a home that remains open, luminous, and quietly protected.

This balance between openness and withdrawal shapes the architecture throughout. An L-shaped configuration draws the house towards its planted edges, extending views and loosening the compactness of the site. Green spill-out spaces are introduced at multiple levels, while decks operate as transitional zones between enclosed rooms and landscape. The distinction between inside and outside is therefore softened, not through spectacle, but through continuity and measured release.

Within, the renovation acquires its emotional depth through craft and light. A central skylight illuminates a dramatic art wall, creating a shifting register of shadow and brightness through the day. Handmade stone flooring, fine woodwork, and handcrafted decorative elements lend the interiors a material gravity rooted in artisanal tradition. The house takes its name from the glowing jaali that animates the terrace elevation after dusk. More than a visual flourish, it gives the façade depth, privacy, and a quiet radiance.