Edmund Sumner and Rob Gregory’s new monograph shines a light on one of the most audacious environments in modern residential architecture. Contemporary House India is a survey of more than 20 examples of new Indian houses, spanning the vast country and including the work of many of India’s most pre-eminent architects, as well as new faces. Casting its net wide, this architecture book celebrates a new modernism in Indian architecture.
With an introductory conversation with the Pritzker Prize-winning architect BV Doshi, featured studios include Matra Architects, Studio Mumbai, Romi Khosla and Architecture Brio. There is a special focus on the kinetic experimentation of Ahmedabad-based Matharoo Associates, where walls and shutters flip and transform, creating endless interior variations.
Lattice House by Sameep Padora
Sumner has travelled extensively in India and his photographs place each house in context, from urban density to suburban sprawl, to remote villas that are set against a backdrop of spectacular scenery. The very welcome addition of plans and sections makes this much more than a glossy picture book – even though the glossy pictures are exceptional.
Detail designs and the wide variety of different materials and hand-crafted elements throughout the houses are covered with precision, juxtaposing fine finishes, rich textures and dramatic interiors with the dramatic variety of sites and locations.
Wood House by Matra Architects
Ultimately, this is the architecture of individualism, a broad sweep of programmes and approaches that reflects the country’s extraordinary diversity, as well as the craft and construction skills that are available to create such detailed designs. There’s a broad taxonomy at work – remote villas, urban living, new settlements and improvisation – but the 92-year-old Doshi sets the tone.
‘Analysis has freaked our brain and attitude to life,' he says in the introduction. ‘If you just use the word “dwelling” for everything and print it like that, nobody will question what it is.’
The Shadow House by Samira Rathod
INFORMATION
Contemporary House India by Edmund Sumner and Rob Gregory, Thames & Hudson, £45
-
Year in Review: we’re always after innovations that interest us – here are ten of 2025’s bestWe present ten pieces of tech that broke the mould in some way, from fresh takes on guitar design, new uses for old equipment and the world’s most retro smartwatch
-
Art and culture editor Hannah Silver's top ten interviews of 2025Glitching, coding and painting: 2025 has been a bumper year for art and culture. Here, Art and culture editor Hannah Silver selects her favourite moments
-
In Norway, remoteness becomes the new luxuryAcross islands and fjords, a new wave of design-led hideaways is elevating remoteness into a refined, elemental form of luxury
-
A day in Ahmedabad – tour the Indian city’s captivating architectureIndia’s Ahmedabad has a thriving architecture scene and a rich legacy; architect, writer and photographer Nipun Prabhakar shares his tips for the perfect tour
-
Inside a creative couple's magical, circular Indian home, 'like a fruit'We paid a visit to architect Sandeep Virmani and social activist Sushma Iyengar at their circular home in Bhuj, India; architect, writer and photographer Nipun Prabhakar tells the story
-
The Architecture Edit: Wallpaper’s houses of the monthFrom wineries-turned-music studios to fire-resistant holiday homes, these are the properties that have most impressed the Wallpaper* editors this month
-
David Kohn’s first book, ‘Stages’, is unpredictable, experimental and informativeThe first book on David Kohn Architects focuses on the work of the award-winning London-based practice; ‘Stages’ is an innovative monograph in 12 parts
-
A refined Indian country residence reimagines the farmhouseSet among Karnataka’s rolling fields and forest, House by the Grove by Taliesyn Design & Architecture combines modern materials with an open approach to the elements
-
Half bridge, half home: Wallmakers’ latest project takes architecture to daring new heightsHovering above a forest stream in Maharashtra, Bridge House pushes the limits of engineering and eco-conscious design
-
The Architecture Edit: Wallpaper’s houses of the monthFrom Malibu beach pads to cosy cabins blanketed in snow, Wallpaper* has featured some incredible homes this month. We profile our favourites below
-
Cascading greenery softens the brutalist façade of this Hyderabad homeThe monolithic shell of this home evokes a familiar brutalist narrative, but designer 23 Degrees Design Shift softens the aesthetic by shrouding Antriya in lush planting
