Though we’ve given it a headline status, the fact that there are separate ‘his’ and ‘hers’ master bedrooms is probably the least interesting thing about The Runway House. Indeed, it’s par for the course for Balan + Nambisan Architects; whether they’re designing a home for a couple who’ve just gotten married, or for clients in their 80s, this Bengaluru-based practice has invariably always ended up designing separate bedrooms for ‘him’ and ‘her’.
Jubin Johnson, Hansoga photography
From an architectural point of view, there’s a lot more that makes this two-storey airport-facing Bengaluru penthouse stand out: there are the vaulted ceilings and incisive skylights that allow natural light to pierce through every corner of the 5,500-square-foot home. There are the vaulted ceilings held up by exposed black steel beams, an adaptive reuse aesthetic that’s all the rage in commercial spaces but rarely witnessed in the home. Consequently, there’s a bold use of black in places you wouldn’t normally expect, like on the kitchen tiles, on the family room ceiling, in a way that feels defiantly fresh, light, and cosy.
For the architects, the exposed structure the industrial undercurrent it lent the design was a conscious choice, made possible by the fact that the clients themselves were young, laid-back and game for anything. Still, it is when we see these details manifest into two strikingly different designs in the ‘his’ and ‘hers’ master bedroom, each a manifestation of the clients’ vividly different personalities, that you get a sense of how expressive the interior palette truly is.
“She is a full-on diva, a really lively and energetic person” shares architect Hamsini Murali, an associate architect at the firm who led the project with the partner, Arun Balan. “She wanted her pinks and purples, feathers and velvets and satins.” On the other hand, his bedroom is an austere assemblage, anchored by a fluted black duco-painted MDF wall, and precious else. “He wanted something a lot more restrained, with a more dramatic play of sunlight.” Luckily, sunlight is in plentiful supply in this property, which overlooks the runway of the Bengaluru airport on one side, and the golf course on the other. adding brick cladding to the facade–and then purposely left the structure exposed. It was a bold move; the result is a home that has all the industrial chic of a New York loft, with plenty of room for the homeowners to express their personal aesthetic.
If the two master bedrooms are an indication of how different two spaces could look within the same home, the master baths are even more so. Hers is enviably glamorous, with shiny highlighter wall tiles, a sculptural standalone bathtub and a glittery crystal chandelier. His is a soothing wash of stone tiles, with lots of greenery and a live-edge wooden counter; he also gets a chandelier, albeit a quieter one in woven custom-made wicker.
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