Architect's House by ALEEYA. Design Studio in Karachi, Pakistan

Project: Architect's House
Architects: ALEEYA. Design Studio
Location: Karachi, Pakistan  
Area: 22,500 sq ft
Year: 2022
Photography by: Matt Harrington 

Architect's House by ALEEYA. Design Studio

The architect’s house, designed by ALEEYA. Design Studio, is located in Karachi, Pakistan, within a prestigious area known as the United Housing Company. The house sits on the southwest corner of a 2000 sq yard plot, with specific design constraints imposed by local regulations including setbacks from the front and side boundaries of the fence.

As a design studio focused on evolution and experimentation, ALEEYA. Design Studio aimed to create an authentic and unspoiled concept for the Architect’s House. Since the architect is both client and designer, the house embodies a unique and organic approach to design that allows unlimited experimentation.

ALEEYA. Design Studio completed the Architect's House project. Located in a prestigious area of Karachi, the house is situated on the southwest plot of 2000 sq yards, measuring 116 feet 6 inches in width and 149 feet 9 inches in depth. As a city, Karachi is known for its affluent housing societies, located next to poor rural areas. The United Housing Company where the Architect's House was built consists of several neighborhoods with strict and outdated rules created by officials a decade ago. The most significant constraint is the 30-foot setback from the front and 10 feet on all three sides of the fence, which automatically defines design limitations.

In a world where change is the only constant, ALEEYA. Design Studio represents a firm driven by evolution – evolution in spaces, materials, objects and light. The studio wants to create its own path through thoughts, emotions and diverse experiences. Using design to awaken feelings, A. creates atmospheres constantly experimenting with body and void – an ethical direction in design that is consistently reflected in the Architect's House where she lives with her family.

When an architect is both client and designer, the result is an authentic and unspoiled concept; something that feels organic in the moment of design, giving life to something natural. This allows unlimited experimentation, which other creative projects do not permit.

In a city like Karachi, cultural norms and traditional values slightly influence house design but in this case the architect wanted to introduce a new aesthetic approach to her hometown. Unlike other houses on the street, the façade consists of sloped projecting masses covered with French cream limestone with windows measuring 7 feet 0 inches wide and 8 feet 0 inches high, built between them, creating a heavy exterior structure. This provides privacy from the street and effectively hides the 95-foot-long driveway within the fence and main gates. The idea was to hide a large, spacious, and well-lit living space behind a massive concrete structure resembling a Swiss façade.

Providing two entrances to the house, one experiences different atmospheres – a calm and quiet pool with terrace leading through a large glass pivot portal; the other is a 16-foot wide and 16-foot deep double-height entrance area under a roof measuring 16 feet in width and 28 feet in length, behind heavy 9-foot oak doors that immediately fill the center of the house with constantly changing light from sunrise to sunset. Careful placement of all window openings allows warm Karachi sun to penetrate directly through the house, striking structural elements and soft materials inside.

It is often mistakenly believed that complex angles and unique curves give life to structures. Nature and light can reveal feelings and create an atmosphere that awakens our senses. Through simple forms, the most beautiful experience can arise.

The structure of this house was designed with these thoughts in mind, featuring intentionally large movement spaces that create a significant flow throughout the house, initiating motion inside. The Architect's House reveals the soul of the architect by creating a space that continuously evolves with the changing seasons.

– ALEEYA. Design Studio