Simply comfortable

A mezzanine floor partly sunk into the ground makes a lot of sense in the hot and arid plains surrounding Delhi. It helps to keep the house, especially if it's a low-rise structure, cool in the summers, while in the winters the heat trapped by the earth keeps it warm and cosy.

This simple enough scientific principle has been employed with wonderful effect in the architecture of 2 Anandgram, the home of Arun Kapur who's the principal of Vasant Valley, one of Delhi's most reputable schools.

Set amidst approximately three acres of gently rolling land, the house has a sylvan appearance, covered with chandramallika and other flowering vines tumbling down from the roof and crawling up the walls. It's set in a kind of nook dug into the grounds, which opens out into a little clearing with a small pool (dry now, it's done duty, says Kapur's 80-year-old mother, as an impromptu dance floor during a party), with walls made entirely of large chunks of the local rough grey stone fixed in place with lime mortar which emphasise its rustic, earthy look.

Inside, the house, isn't large and the layout is fairly simple. There's the main hall on the lower level divided into a sitting and dining area separated by a small wood-panelled bar area. The furniture is lived-in, a mix of comfortable sofas and wooden chairs, with a few rattan stools.

This leads off into an ample kitchen with a range, oven and wash basin on one side; on the other, a wooden worktable occupies pride of place surrounded by, among other things, a bookshelf stuffed with cookery books