Zydus Cadila Guest House

Along the western expressway where one of its service roads meanders, existed a three storied guesthouse for Zydus Cadilla Life science. At a constrained number of 6 rooms, it failed to serve the requirements of the company and its outdated demeanour was demanding a completely new structure to come up in its place. ADND was hired to design a new guesthouse for the company executives. The new building was to be designed to house 30 rooms of single and double occupancy along with an office floor with skeletal staff. The last two floors were to be dedicated for the director's penthouse. This was strategic as the view from that elevation was uninterrupted of the airport runways and the western expressway snaking its way through the urban fabric.
The director's penthouse occupies the last two floors, the seventh and eighth floor respectively. The two floors were extremely pigeon-holed on account of the inherited structural grid of the floors below. As architects for the building and aware of its limitations, we decided to wear the hat of interior designers and challenge the spatial quality derived from floors below. The seventh-floor lobby was integrated into the home and became the entrance foyer. Successive punctuations between this foyer and the spaces abutting the façade were perforated. This allowed for the light from the façade to penetrate to the lift foyer. Secondly, we decided to open up the grid of the building on this level. The front of the apartment housed the dining, living and a bar/den space. While the living and dining were integrated into a large space, the sliding folding glass partition allowed for the bar/den to be merged into the living at the time of larger gathering or then maintain its private enclosure. The rear of the apartment on this floor houses the only guest room and the pantry with servant's quarters.

Once the spatial quality of the spaces was defined, we began the articulation of the surfaces by giving the necessary textures and layers. The walls of the entrance foyer were wrapped in white oak fluting and the arches that punctuated the spaces were defined in antique brass 12mm plates. The geometric marble inlay flooring across the entire level was envisaged as the primary graphic. Clients are ardent art collectors and the beautiful art from Tarq gallery of artist Boshudhara Mukherjee, called the shapeshifter made from fabric and threads adorns the backdrop of the dining wall. The foreground is composed in ameboid shaped lights from Naim Barry over the table.
The arches, panelling, geometric flooring inlay patterns and the antique brass are all contextual modern interpretation to the geography of the project in a retro mumbai. The arch frames the living room arrangement as one exits from the lift. The curved sofa from Vladimir Kagan and the Baxter centre table with the two lounge chairs of Claude Cartier make a phenomenal setting against backdrop of the landing and take-off of the numerous flights through the day. The Boris Brucher bidriware metal Screen from AEQUo adds much needed enclosure to living room.
The bar/den area has a burgundy-coloured panelled wall which screens the TV. It climbs the ceiling and house the necklace like lighting from Ka Resting below the lights is the bar. With its live edge wood juxtaposed with Italian marble fluting apron at one end and antique brass deconstructed base at the other end, it makes for an impressive social gathering. Accommodated into the bar is a cosy two-seater seating that allows to have an intimate conversation with an arched seating created in a wall of the white oak fluting.
The powder toilet again takes reference of the arch and is reflected in the design of the mirror and the light composed as a screen that hold a beautifully carved marble basin.
The eighth-floor houses two master bedrooms and two smaller rooms for the children. The master bedrooms have been designed keeping in mind timeless luxury. The attempt was to create an ambiance where the inhabitants coming down for short duration would be embraced in warmth and comfort but with a distinct style quotient.
The children’s room embrace their gender personalities. The boy’s room has a very grunge aesthetics of concrete textured walls, reclaimed leather and textured fabrics to compliment the aesthetics. The girl’s room is tinted in pink hues giving away her age and preference of colour.

Principal Architect - Shobhan Kothari, Anand Menon
Team - Baijul Raichura, Omkar Chari, Yasha Bengani