OG House by Omar Gandhi is an architects own home in Halifax, the capital of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Defined by a deft understanding of light and form, it is a deeply personal home and a compelling piece of architecture, as seen in The Local Project’s house tour.
As the project’s architect, Omar, says, the brief for this home was to create a house for his family as well as a new studio space for his budding practice. As it happens, his architecture studio grew rapidly over the course of the build, and as such, the ground floor studio space is now an extension of his original waterfront studio and a place to work on community projects with his team. This project illustrates a seamless understanding of how domestic and non-domestic principles can coexist within an architects own home.
The footprint of this house was heavily defined by the site and its setbacks from abutting properties and to the street. Cleverly, Omar has used these parameters to gently guide the architecture and ensuing build. In the house tour of an architects own home, Omar highlights the site’s various constraints, which have been reinterpreted as opportunities in designing a compelling piece of architecture. As Omar says, “the volume was resolved from the outset, so it became a process of articulation and sculpting, and in some cases, sacrificing overall square footage for moments of joy, delight and surprise.”
Inside, the layout has been conceived as a direct response to Omar and his family’s patterns of living. The main entrance is located at the back of the house, and it leads guests through a lounge area – Omar’s favourite spot for a morning coffee – into the studio, which is set deeper into the plan. On the second floor, there is a small bathroom as well as the kitchen, dining and living room. Another flight of stairs takes visitors to the primary bedroom level, and an additional level above contains Omar’s son’s bedroom as well as a guest bathroom.
The home exudes the essence of an architects own home, as every element of the design – from the architecture and interior design to the materials and furnishings – are cohesive and curated with consideration. The ceiling in the primary living area sits on an incline, opening the space gradually and allowing for an abundance of natural light in this integral part of the home. This effect is illustrated in the house tour, which reveals the sense of scale.
The interior design is highly complementary to the architecture. Further, it is the ideal canvas upon which the soft, indirect light plays throughout the house. The primary materials for both the interior and exterior include white oak, buffed brick, neutral colours of stone and raw steel custom fabricated for this project. Their meticulous curation is telling of an architects own home.
As Omar says of the interior design, notions around light and sculpted space became central to the rationale for OG House and the result is a home that exudes a singular quality of light and a surprising sense of volume. This is emblematic of the aspect of OG House that Omar is most proud of. As he says, “from the street, looking at the building, it’s actually quite closed off, but on the inside, it’s so light-filled, highly textured and really warm – it’s a wonderful duality that we were able to achieve.”
00:00 – Introduction to the Architects Own Home
00:55 – The Family Centred Brief
01:58 – The Layout and Walkthrough of the Home
03:42 – A Focus on the Light and Sculpted Areas
04:28 – The Neutral Material Palette
04:59 – Customised Furniture Pieces
05:57 – Proud Moments and Favourite Aspects
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Photography by Pablo Veiga.
Architecture and Interior Design by Omar Gandhi Architects.
Build by MRB Contracting and Hewn + Barter.
Structural Engineering by Andrea Doncaster Engineering.
Filmed and Edited by O&Co. Homes.
Production by The Local Project.
Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
The Local Project acknowledges the traditional territories and homelands of the Indigenous peoples in Canada. We recognise the importance of Indigenous peoples in the identity of our respective countries and continuing connections to Country and community. We pay our respect to Elders, past and present and extend that respect to all Indigenous people of these lands.
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