Contemporary House India offers stunning portrait of the country's new modernism
Contemporary House India, a new monograph by photographer Edmund Sumner and architect and academic Rob Gregory, charts the South Asian country's modern residential architecture

Edmund Sumner - Photography
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
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.
-
For her first Rome retrospective, artist Anthea Hamilton reconsiders Othello
In ‘Soft You,’ now on view at Fondazione Memmo, sensuality and severity coexist.
-
Want to be a Venice pavilion commissioner? Bring ideas – and your Rolodex
The impressive showings of the USA's Venice pavilion in the Giardini belie the ambitious fundraising efforts that underpin them. Past and present curators tell us how it works
-
Ma Yansong's latest project is anchored by a gleaming stainless steel 'tornado'
The new Fenix museum in Rotterdam, devoted to migration, marks MAD's first European cultural project.
-
In New Delhi, a home designed to embrace light and landscape
A New Delhi house, Architecture Discipline’s Lighthouse, arranges a generous family residence and pool house around an expansive garden
-
Modernist Travel Guide: a handy companion to explore modernism across the globe
‘Modernist Travel Guide’, a handy new pocket-sized book for travel lovers and modernist architecture fans, comes courtesy of Wallpaper* contributor Adam Štěch and his passion for modernism
-
Wild sauna, anyone? The ultimate guide to exploring deep heat in the UK outdoors
‘Wild Sauna’, a new book exploring the finest outdoor establishments for the ultimate deep-heat experience in the UK, has hit the shelves; we find out more about the growing trend
-
Shalini Misra’s Delhi home is a seasonal sanctuary ‘made in India’
Interior designer Shalini Misra’s retreat in the Indian capital champions modernist influences, Islamic ancestry and local craftsmanship
-
A triplex Mumbai penthouse contains sculptural staircases and expansive terraces
Enso House is a multigenerational Mumbai penthouse by S+PS Architects that combines a reorganised interior programme with bespoke finishes and crafts
-
This ‘architourism’ trip explores India’s architectural history, from Mughal to modernism
Architourian is offering travellers a seven-night exploration of northern India’s architectural marvels, including Chandigarh, the city designed by Le Corbusier
-
At the Institute of Indology, a humble new addition makes all the difference
Continuing the late Balkrishna V Doshi’s legacy, Sangath studio design a new take on the toilet in Gujarat
-
Pretty in pink: Mumbai's new residential tower shakes up the cityscape
'Satguru’s Rendezvous' in Mumbai houses luxury apartments behind its elegant fluted concrete skin. We take a tour.