House with Canopy by DADA & Partners in New Delhi, India

This page is also available in the following languages:🇷🇺🇺🇦🇫🇷🇩🇪🇪🇸🇵🇱🇨🇳

Modern house in India with large pool and green grass

Contemporary housing combines vertical landscape integration

A house with a canopy by DADA & Partners is a bold experiment in contemporary residential architecture, where compact urban living combines with spatial fluidity, climate-adaptive design and multi-level landscapes. Located in the suburbs of New Delhi, this house is a multi-functional home for a family of five, combining formal leisure zones, workspaces and entertainment areas on multiple levels within a small plot of 3800 square feet.

The client's vision for creating an iconic modern home, which emphasizes light, openness and smooth transitions between interior and exterior spaces, defined the conceptual direction of the project. The result is sustainable, vertically connected housing with a notable architectural presence.

Central courtyard: light, ventilation and connection

At the center of the project is a multi-level internal courtyard. Carved through the southern part of the house, this courtyard:

Channels natural light and air deep into the house
Serves as a visual and spatial divider between the living room, kitchen and parents' bedroom on the first floor
Maintains visibility between levels, ensuring constant connection between floors

The courtyard not only maintains the spatial flow but also becomes a passive cooling device, using stack ventilation throughout the year.

First floor: transparency and relief

The first level functions as a transparent shell, fully interacting with the external landscape. Frameless glass panels from floor to ceiling, pivot glass doors and continuation of finishing materials inside and outside eliminate boundaries, turning living spaces into a mixed pavilion structure.

The integration of hard and soft landscape elements further enhances the visual and functional permeability of the site, creating an atmosphere that is spacious yet cozy.

Canopy: structural and visual statement

A symbolic design element—the name of the house—is a balcony bathroom, protruding over the main entrance without visible support. This 200-square-foot canopy is an engineering and aesthetic achievement, enhanced by full-height windows that provide natural light without compromising privacy.

This bold accent reflects the house's main theme: lightness through volume, privacy through placement and drama through structure.

Duplex housing: private vertical block for son

The son's duplex suite spans the first and second floors, offering a unique combination of independence and connection:

Lower level: leisure area leading to a wooden terrace
Upper level: bedroom with access to a rooftop garden
Floating steel and wooden staircase, protruding from a textured wall, connects the spaces, adding sculptural elegance

This block demonstrates the house's approach to personalized vertical zoning.

Lantern staircase: light and transition

A dynamic staircase connecting all levels is located inside the building. Above it, a light shaft, and vertical wooden cladding with horizontal metal blinds below transform the space into a glowing lantern at night.

This core serves as a transitional volume, changing depth and character when ascending the stairs, reflecting the combination of movement, materials and light in the house.

Sustainable systems and passive strategies

Sustainability is built into the structure of the house with canopy:

Passive design: southern courtyard for winter sun, deep canopies and blinds to reduce summer heat impact
Rainwater harvesting: storm water from the roof is directed to a collection tank
Solar thermal heating: solar collectors on the roof provide hot water for the house
Material efficiency: wooden screens and shaded terraces act as climate buffers, without sacrificing elegance

Each design element serves as a functional solution for sustainability, ensuring energy efficiency and comfort for residents year-round.

Modern symbol for urban India

With its bold architectural language, compact yet spacious layout and integrated sustainability, the house with canopy by DADA & Partners is a symbol of modern urban housing in India. This house marks vertical openness, climate adaptation and skillful engineering solutions, setting a standard for future residential design on limited plots.

Photo © Ranjan Sharma House with canopy by DADA & Partners in New Delhi, India