De Fonseka Place Residence
Designed to exude the feel of a luxury villa, the 1020sqm De Fonseka Place residence is a two storey, split level private house that redefines understated opulence. The ambitious brief comprises of generous living and dining spaces, tv area, together with five bedrooms, gym, study room, bar area, home theatre, a lift for easy access, a detached shrine room, functional roof terrace, 14m swimming pool, separate staff accommodation and a four-vehicle parking structure with a landscaped roof garden.
The design ethos is rooted in tradition, adhering to the tenets of Vaasthu while embracing contemporary aesthetics. Drawing inspiration from the interplay of lines, solids, and voids, the residence is a symphony of cubic forms and a series of little bursts of spaces that emerge around a central spine. Rather than yield to the standard datum of stacked plans linked by a central circulation core, the design is stretched vertically and horizontally, playing jigsaw with volumes and voids to create lofty spaces and split levels. The changing volumes of the various pockets of spaces – from the double volume living & dining areas to the relatively narrow staircase that releases one out onto the first floor housing the private bedrooms – creates drawn-out spatial experiences as one moves through the house.
The distinctive client’s brief calls for a number of specialised building features for the project including a 4.5m high, 2.6m x 4.5m freestanding fish tank nestled between the main living & tv areas and a tempered glass floor in the bar area overlooking the pool. 4.2m full height glazed sliding folding doors are used to dematerialize the boundary between house and terrace and seamlessly merge the expansive living spaces with the lush, landscaped rear garden to form a natural and fluid extension of the interiors in quintessential tropical tradition. The design team is collaborating closely with specialist sub-contractors and suppliers from both Sri Lanka and India to bring the envisioned design to life.
