MS House: a brutalist home shaped by nature

At MS House, Studio Saransh transforms a Brutalist vocabulary into a surprisingly soft, nature-led architecture. The entire design is led by the non-negotiable premise to preserve the site’s nine mature neem trees. The nature influences every spatial and formal decision, from the curved boundary wall that bends around a trunk to the square punctures that animate the entrance corridor with shifting patterns of light.

MS House, The Central Bay Around a Mature Neem Tree

A sculpted entrance corridor, characterised by a series of squared perforations, mediated the transition from exterior to interior, drawing the visitors toward the heart of the house. At the centre lies a double-height bay distributed around the presence of a mature neem tree. Aligned east–west, this space becomes the family’s daily gathering point, where light, shade, and canopy intertwine.

Described by principal architect Malay Doshi as "the soul of the house", the central bay acts as a spatial hinge between two distinct wings: one extending toward the front house with the living room, verandah, and garden; the other containing the guest room, kitchen, and ancillary areas. On the upper floor, the void rises into a study overlooking the dining space below, reinforcing continuous visual dialogue with the surrounding nature.

Brutalism Tempered by Material Warmth

The exterior expresses a solid, textured concrete massing softened by vegetation. The Brutalist vocabulary reads strongly in the house exteriors with solid volumes that blend quietly within the foliage. Deep chamfers, square openings, and wooden-strip textured concrete establish rhythm and tactility, while creepers at the parapet are designed to slowly drape over the façade. 

The brutalist aesthetic is softened on the inside with a restrained yet delicate palette. Concrete and lime plaster walls and grey Kota stone flooring create continuity between the home’s interiors and exterior.

The interiors cultivate a quiet richness through a calibrated interplay of materials and finely crafted bespoke elements. Wood, stone, and wicker introduce warmth against the disciplined backdrop of concrete and Kota stone. 

Living spaces balance sculptural concrete surfaces with ethically sourced teak and custom furnishings. Meanwhile, the bedrooms reveal subtle variations with graphite or sage green tones for the daughters’ rooms, and a serene, minimally detailed guest suite. Bathed in natural light from skylights and full-height glazings, the bathrooms become architectural inserts of their own with skylit volumes, timber shading and a powder room overlooking Champa trees.

Sustainability Rooted in Context

Environmental performance is embedded in the house’s design process. Starting from the building’s orientation, which is studied to maximise natural lighting and ventilation, while solar gain is reduced through shaded openings, double glazing and cavity walls.  A solar-powered gazebo roof supplements this passive strategy, supplying up to 80% of the home’s energy demand.

Additionally, the thoughtful selection of materials further reflects a commitment to resource consciousness. Lime plaster is preferred over plastic-based coatings, and offcuts of timber and marble are re-crafted into bespoke tables and consoles, significantly reducing construction waste.

MS House emerges as a contemporary interpretation of Ahmedabad’s architectural legacy, a proof demonstrating how Brutalism can soften and attune itself to the cadence of nature. By allowing trees to shape spatial and formal decisions, Studio Saransh creates not a concrete house, but a deeply personal home rooted in its living landscape.

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