Looking like a mysterious stack of timber boxes, the Lattice House is located in a new suburb on Jammu city’s outskirts in northwest India. Created by Mumbai-based architect Sameep Padora, the structure is defined by its characteristic, permeable skin made of horizontal bands of vertical wood lattice screens.
The architect, who is known for his craft based approach and his award-winning designs that combine the modern and the traditional, is also the hand behind the small but perfectly formed Shiv Temple in Maharashtra (2010) and the angular Fort House in Hyderabad (2014).
Take an interactive tour of Lattice House
The Lattice House’s clever facade elements act as the structure’s all-encompassing envelope, wrapping around everything, from balconies and sun shading, to storage and the house’s main living interiors. In one neat, single multi-tasking sweep, the screens also secure the residents’ privacy from passers-by’s prying eyes.
Clean white interiors inside let the structure’s distinct skin become its centrepiece. The internal arrangement is done on a horizontal basis; more private functions, such as bedrooms and ensuite bathrooms, are located to the rear of the house, while living, dinning and cooking areas are placed in an open plan layout towards the front. A garden is accessible from the front or sides, further elaborating on the house’s connection between indoors and outdoors.
