Architects Collaborative Builds a Noida House That Opens Like a Rajasthani Storytelling Box

Q: Who wrote "Architects Collaborative Builds a Noida House That Opens Like a Rajasthani Storytelling Box"?

This article was written by UNI Editorial and published on uni.xyz, a platform for design professionals and creative thinkers.

Q: What is "Architects Collaborative Builds a Noida House That Opens Like a Rajasthani Storytelling Box" about?

This article covers topics related to Residential Building, Architecture, Interior Architecture, Architectural Experience, Building Design, Uttarakhand Architecture, Residential Design. In Noida, a three-storey family home on a 300 sq m plot uses louvred timber, tinted courts and arches to unfold room by room like a painted Kavad.

In Noida, a three-storey family home on a 300 sq m plot uses louvred timber, tinted courts and arches to unfold room by room like a painted Kavad.

5 min read·1 reads

UNI Editorial published Blog under Residential Building, Architecture on Oct 10, 2026

Most suburban houses in the National Capital Region follow a simple formula: fill the plot, maximise the floor area, and put a decorated front on it. A Tale of Tinted Courts Residence by Architects Collaborative, led by Abhishek Saxena and Madhav Maini, keeps the density but changes the way you experience it. On a 300 sq m plot in a quiet Noida neighbourhood, the New Delhi practice fits about 750 sq m of home for a family of four into three monolithic volumes. The house faces southwest across a small park and has three courts cut into it.

The concept comes from the Kavad, the portable wooden shrine from Rajasthan whose hinged, hand-painted panels open one after another to tell a story. That kind of reference often stays decorative. Here it shapes the plan, the façade and the colour scheme. The courts work as the story panels. The timber louvres open and shut like the box's doors. Each room is tinted a different shade, so walking through the house plays out as a sequence of scenes. We think the reference holds up because it also deals with the hardest site condition the architects had: harsh afternoon sun on the main frontage.

A Louvred Front Facing the Park

Street view of a tall blade wall and timber louvred upper floors behind mature trees and a plank gate

Street facade with open timber louvre shutters above sheer curtains, seen through two tree trunks and a planted garden in daylight

Timber louvre screen across the upper floors, seen through tree trunks and lawn in warm afternoon light

A southwest orientation is difficult in Noida. The best view, onto the park, is also the side that takes the strongest heat. The architects deal with it by placing a layer of operable timber louvres across the upper floors. When the shutters are closed, the street front looks like a closed wooden case. When they are open, you see sheer curtains and some of the life inside.

The street view shows a tall blade wall and a plank gate set behind mature trees, so the house holds back from the road instead of filling it. The park's tree canopy provides the first layer of shade, and the louvres provide the second. Because the façade can change, the residents control how exposed they are, not the architect.

Three Volumes in Terracotta Plaster

Terracotta plastered facade with timber louvre screens wrapping a corner balcony, framed by leafy branches under a pale blue sky

Terracotta-plastered stepped volumes with timber louvre screens rising behind a ruined brick wall and banana plants, framed by leaves against blue sky

Rear elevation of ochre plastered volumes with arched windows and a central louvred timber box under a pale afternoon sky

From the corners and the rear, the building reads as three separate stepped masses rather than one block. They are finished in terracotta and ochre plaster that changes tone through the day. Timber louvre screens wrap a corner balcony and fill the space between the volumes. At the back, a central louvred box sits between the arched-window walls like the closed centre of a Kavad.

One view shows the volumes behind a ruined brick wall and banana plants. It is one of the few places where the house appears to admit it is new, and it suggests the architects see the building as part of an older, weathered setting. The listed material palette of lime plaster, sandstone, limestone and wood supports that. These materials age well in this climate, which is more than can be said for the glass and composite panels common on nearby streets.

Arrival Through Water and Arches

Red sandstone steps rising to a recessed terracotta-plastered entrance, with a checkered tile wall and green plant glimpsed through open timber doors

Sequence of arched openings beside a shallow indoor water channel, with sunlight casting diagonal shadows on plastered walls

View through a glass pane to a small plunge pool in a terracotta plaster courtyard with a banana leaf overhead

Courtyard fountain niche clad in black and white diamond tile between tall ochre walls, with a tree against a blue sky

Enfilade of nested arches leading to a glazed timber door, with a patterned tile threshold and sunlight on herringbone flooring

You enter up red sandstone steps into a recessed terracotta porch. Through the open timber doors you can already see a chequered tile wall and some planting. Inside, the ground floor follows a central axis. A sequence of arched openings runs beside a shallow indoor water channel, and the low sun throws diagonal shadows across the plaster. This is the first panel of the story, and it is a calm one.

The water continues into a small plunge pool set in a terracotta court, and a fountain niche clad in black and white diamond tile sits between tall ochre walls. The nested arches leading to a glazed timber door show the main spatial idea most clearly. Every threshold reveals the next one, the same way a Kavad's panels open inward toward the shrine at its centre.

Courts as Pauses in the Plan

Double-height dining room with striped chairs, glass-topped table and crystal chandelier between two arched openings onto garden courtyards

Living room with tan leather sofas, faceted mirrored tables and a chandelier, opening through floor-to-ceiling glass to banana plants and green lawn

Top-down view of a slatted timber-clad void with a checkered tile floor and a potted plant at its edge, ringed by greenery

The double-height dining room sits between two arched openings onto garden courts. This is the point where the courts change from something you see into the rooms that organise the house. The living room opens through full-height glass onto banana plants and lawn, so on a dense plot the green court functions as a second living room.

Two of the three courts are on the upper floors, and that matters on a plot this tight. They bring light and cross-ventilation into the middle of a deep floor plate where windows alone would not reach. One upper court is wrapped in slatted timber framing that shades it. Seen from above, it is a timber-lined void with a chequered floor and a potted plant at its edge, more like a lantern than a terrace.

The Stair as the Spine of the Story

Landing with chequerboard floor, black balustrade and arched timber door, a blurred figure descending the stairs beside a crystal chandelier

Stair landing with turned black balusters, slatted timber shutters and twin crystal chandeliers beneath a skylight, lit by daylight on herringbone flooring

Top-down view of a herringbone timber floor with a blurred figure crossing below a baluster rail and chandelier

Arched timber door opening onto a landing with a chequered floor, banana plant and crystal chandelier, beside a window with a black blind

Red-edged arched opening framing a timber staircase with black turned balusters, a framed picture and a patch of afternoon sunlight on the wall

The stair ties the narrative together. Black turned balusters, herringbone timber floors, chequerboard landings and crystal chandeliers under a skylight make the vertical route a destination, not a service core. Seen from above, the herringbone floor and the baluster rail read almost as a drawing.

The chandeliers will divide opinion. They push the interior toward maximalism, and some readers will feel that dilutes the architecture. We read them as consistent with the brief: this is a house about storytelling, and stories need some theatre. The red-edged arch that frames the timber stair shows the architects can be just as theatrical with a single painted line.

Colour as the Narrative Device

Arched passage in plum plaster walls leading to a painted wooden cabinet and a patterned curtain beside a shuttered window

Narrow terracotta-plastered corridor ending in a small wooden side table holding a clay pot, with a black ceiling spotlight above

Wooden bench with inlaid tile backrest in a corner of louvered shutters, sunlight striping a checkered stone floor

The title refers to tint, and the house uses it literally. A passage has plum plaster walls and leads to a painted wooden cabinet. A narrow corridor in terracotta ends at a small side table with a clay pot. Colour separates one part of the house from another more than walls do, and it marks each room as a new chapter instead of more of the same.

The smaller details carry this through. A wooden bench with an inlaid tile backrest sits in a corner of louvred shutters, with sunlight striping the chequered stone floor. The louvres appear inside as well as on the façade, which means the Kavad idea is applied consistently throughout and not only on the street front.

Private Rooms, Painted Baths

Bedroom corner with a carved timber bed and bedside table beside an arched opening, banana leaves pressing against the glass

Glass door beside a sunken bath, with a potted strelitzia, trailing vines and an arched timber door beyond in soft daylight

Shower with arched openings in speckled plaster, blue walls and blue-white tile dado, daylight falling through a glass door

Bathroom with pink terrazzo shower wall, teak fold-down bench and brass fittings above a black and white checkerboard floor

The bedrooms are quieter than the shared rooms: a carved timber bed, an arched opening, and banana leaves against the glass. The courts keep greenery close even on the upper floors, where a typical Noida house would only see its neighbour's wall.

The bathrooms are where the colour is strongest. One shower has blue walls, speckled plaster arches and a blue-and-white tile dado. Another pairs a pink terrazzo wall with a teak fold-down bench, brass fittings and a black-and-white chequerboard floor. A sunken bath sits beside a glass door with a strelitzia and trailing vines. These are the most private rooms, and the architects have given each one its own identity.

Plans and Drawings

Site plan drawing showing a narrow plot between built neighbors, with tree canopies on the unbuilt side and a wide road at the base

Basement floor plan drawing showing a gym, a lounge and a store arranged around a central staircase, with a section line marked

Ground floor plan drawing showing the foyer, water court, dining, kitchen and green court along a central axis, with trees at the edge

First floor plan drawing showing two bedrooms with baths and dressing rooms, a central lounge and a balcony, flanked by tree canopies

Second floor plan drawing showing two bedrooms, baths, a central hallway with stair and lift, a sundeck and a balcony, with tree canopies outlined beside it

Terrace floor plan drawing showing two small bedroom volumes with baths, a planted buffer strip, a spiral stair and a large open terrace

Section drawing through stacked living levels, a water court and green court, with basement rooms below and tree outlines on both sides

The site plan shows how narrow the plot is, with buildings close on both sides and the trees concentrated on the open edge. The basement holds a gym, a lounge and a store around the central stair. The ground floor sets out foyer, water court, dining, kitchen and green court along one axis, which is where the sequential reading is clearest on paper.

The upper floors place bedrooms with their own baths and dressing rooms around a central lounge or hallway, with a lift, sundecks and balconies. At terrace level there are two small bedroom volumes, a planted buffer strip, a spiral stair and a large open terrace. The section explains the whole project: the living levels are stacked over the basement and opened up by the water court and green court, with the courts serving as the building's air and light supply.

Why This Project Matters

Indian suburban housing is under pressure to build more floor area on smaller plots, and the usual result is a sealed, air-conditioned box. Architects Collaborative shows another approach. Courts set into the section, operable timber screens, and lime and stone finishes can deal with a difficult southwest frontage while still giving a family two and a half times the plot area. The passive strategy is built into the architecture, not attached afterwards.

The Kavad reference is also worth noting because it works as a method and not as a motif. A cultural object that is about sequence, revealing things in order, becomes a way to plan a house. You can disagree with the chandeliers and still see why it works: the reference produced an organising idea, and the organising idea produced a better house.

A Tale of Tinted Courts Residence by Architects Collaborative (Abhishek Saxena and Madhav Maini), Noida, India. Area: 750 m². Completed: 2025. Photography: Lokesh Dang.

About the Studio

Architects Collaborative

Share Your Own Work on uni.xyz

If projects like this are the kind of work you want to make, uni.xyz is a place to publish your own, find collaborators, and enter design competitions.