FRONTAGE
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On approach, the simple volumes that wrap the house in privacy peel away to reveal a textured entry full of greenery, with screening, oblique sightlines to and from the house, and the shadowy depth of an undercroft porch helping to bridge the tension between privacy and welcome, as often experienced in small neighbourhoods and tight lots.
GARDEN
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Beyond the street face, the house opens generously to its sunny south-western aspect that is ideal for a small garden retreat, a sanctuary for the family that provides a safe place for growing children to play, and a place of respite for the older generations to enjoy.
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"What meant the most to us was how naturally the house connects with its surroundings. The sun moves through the space with us—from morning to evening—and there’s always fresh air flowing through, making it feel open and alive. The indoors and outdoors blend so well that we often forget we’re inside. It’s comfortable, familiar, and makes us feel at home in every sense."
FAMILY
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The kitchen is the proverbial heart of the home. Here, it's a sunny space, open to the western, eastern and southern aspects, with easy access to a comfortable raised herb and vegetable planter lining the southern terrace, and oblique sightlines from narrow northern windows out to the street below. Its simple, compact layout is tucked away into the eastern corner of the house, an auspicious Vastu Shastra placement. Situated in easy flow to the dining area which features a window seat and access to greenery outside, the kitchen and dining area combined foster a warm, inviting space for play and repose, entertaining guests, and dwelling as a family.
LIVING AREA
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Simple lines and reveals define the living area with benches and seating that open to a western garden with extensive views over the garden walls, into the valley below. Alcove reveals provide built-in seating and gestures to the pati (or dais) seating found throughout the Kathmandu valley, and receives the ample sunlight pouring into the large, lofty living space.
HALLWAY
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Bedrooms are accessed along the upper level hallway and are illuminated by a skylight that breaks the long corridor open to the sky, pulling daylight indoors, onto a textured internal wall.
WARM, WET SUMMERS
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The sun warms up the central atrium, creating a thermal stack effect. Operable windows left open allow warm air to escape and cool air to be drawn in from the shady north-facing planting beds and raingardens.
COLD, DRY WINTERS
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With the sun warming up the atrium, and the windows closed to contain warm air within, living spaces benefit from passive solar heat capture that circulate warmth throughout.
MOTION
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The house is designed to be approached sequentially, from its active interface with the neighbourhood and street, to its passive zones within that provide refuge to its occupants.
LAYERS OF ENGAGEMENT
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With a strong boundary presence and frontage mediating privacy and access between the house and its neighbours, a line of sight is deliberately drawn from the family area to the street, as a means to maintain visual engagement with the neighbourhood.
PROGRESS
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The completed house is now home to happy owners and they have chosen to call it Saimo Khim, meaning "dream house" in the Rai language. Between design and delivery, and episodes of landslides that occurred near the boundary of the site, decisions were made to level much of the sloping terrain, creating an undercroft for an extra living area that now expands the ground floor bedrooms into a separate apartment and garden suites for the multi-generational family to grow into and enjoy for years to come.
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"The house has offered a sense of peace and grounding we didn’t even know we needed. The natural light, open gathering spaces, and intimate corners have brought ease into our daily routines. It feels like the house breathes with us—supporting rest, creativity, and connection in ways we never expected."
We welcome your inquiries and ideas. Let's create together.
We welcome your inquiries and ideas. Let's create together.
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands and waters where we live, learn, and practice.
We honour their stories, kinship practices, and enduring connection to Country and Ancestral knowledge systems, and commit to designing in right relation, and in kind.
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“You are here to remember that architecture is not merely the art of shelter, but the poetry of participation in a living world."