- Project: The Overhang House
- Architect: DADA Partners
- Location: India, New Delhi
- Year: 2023
- Area: 353 m2
- Photography: Ranjan Sharma
Contemporary Living Meets Vertical Landscape Integration
The Overhang House by DADA & Partners is a bold experiment in modern residential architecture, where compact urban living meets spatial fluidity, climate-responsive design, and layered landscapes. Located in a suburban neighborhood of New Delhi, this residence is a multifunctional home for a family of five, integrating formal living, workspaces, and entertainment zones across multiple levels on a modest 3,800-square-foot plot.
The client’s vision for an iconic, contemporary residence that emphasizes light, openness, and seamless indoor-outdoor transitions shaped the conceptual direction of the project. The result is a sustainable, vertically interconnected home with a striking architectural presence.
Central Courtyard: Light, Ventilation, and Connection
At the core of the design lies a multi-story internal courtyard. Punched through the south-facing volume of the house, this courtyard:
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Brings in natural light and air deep into the home
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Serves as a visual and spatial divider between the living room, kitchen, and the parent’s suite on the ground floor
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Maintains inter-level visibility, ensuring a constant connection between floors
The courtyard not only anchors the spatial flow but also becomes a passive cooling device, harnessing stack ventilation throughout the seasons.
Ground Floor: Transparency and Terrain
The ground level functions as a transparent podium, fully engaged with the outdoor landscape. Frameless floor-to-ceiling glass panels, pivoted glass doors, and a continuation of material finishes from inside to out erase boundaries, turning the living spaces into a blended pavilion.
The integration of hard and soft landscaping further enhances the visual and functional porosity of the site, creating an atmosphere that is expansive, yet intimate.
The Overhang: A Structural and Visual Statement
A signature design feature—and the house’s namesake—is the cantilevered master bathroom that projects over the main entrance without visible support. This 200-square-foot overhang is an engineering and aesthetic triumph, complemented by full-height windows that provide daylight without compromising privacy.
This bold gesture exemplifies the home’s overarching theme: lightness through volume, privacy through positioning, and drama through structure.
Duplex Living: The Son’s Private Vertical Suite
The son’s duplex suite spans the first and second floors, offering a unique blend of independence and connectivity:
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Lower Level: Lounge space that opens onto a timber-decked private terrace
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Upper Level: Bedroom with access to a roof garden
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A floating steel and wood staircase—cantilevered from a textured wall—ties the spaces together, animating the duplex with sculptural elegance
This unit exemplifies the home’s approach to personalized vertical zoning.
Lantern Stairwell: Light and Transition
Connecting all levels is a dynamic stairwell set inward from the building edge. Above, a skylight filters daylight, while vertical timber cladding and horizontal metal louvers below transform the space into a glowing lantern at night.
This core acts as a transitional volume, changing depth and character as one ascends, reflecting the home’s blend of movement, materiality, and light.
Sustainable Systems & Passive Strategies
Sustainability is embedded into the fabric of The Overhang House:
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Passive Design: South-facing courtyard for winter sun, deep overhangs and louvers to reduce summer heat gain
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Rainwater Harvesting: Rooftop runoff is channeled into a harvesting pit
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Solar Thermal Heating: Rooftop solar collectors power the home’s hot water needs
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Material Efficiency: Timber screens and shaded terraces act as climate buffers without sacrificing elegance
Every design element doubles as a functional sustainability solution, ensuring energy efficiency and occupant comfort year-round.
A Contemporary Landmark for Urban India
With its bold architectural vocabulary, compact-yet-generous layout, and integrated sustainability, The Overhang House by DADA & Partners is a landmark for urban modern living in India. The home celebrates vertical openness, climatic responsiveness, and artful engineering, setting a benchmark for future-forward residential design on constrained plots.
