The Long House by Crest Architects
The Long House is a four-bedroom house in Bengaluru, India, designed by Crest Architects. Set in a quiet gated neighborhood, it responds to a client’s brief for a direct, efficient, and intentional home. A 24-foot cantilever, an H-shaped plan, and a restrained material palette give the residence its clear order.
About The Long House
Tucked within a quiet, gated neighborhood in Bengaluru, The Long House is a four-bedroom residence marked by a 24-foot cantilever. Designed for a client who has recently returned from the United States, it follows a clear brief for a direct, efficient home built with only what is necessary.
The plan is shaped by three clean, cuboidal volumes. Two run parallel at a measured distance, while a third bridges them above, forming an H-shaped arrangement around a landscaped courtyard. That order brings openness, natural ventilation, and a steady link between the built form and the site.
About one-third of the plot remains open. Granite stepping stones lead through the garden to the entrance, softening the move from outdoors to inside and setting a restrained tone from the start.
Vaastu principles guide the spatial layout. On the ground floor, the front block holds the living, dining, and kitchen areas, while the rear block contains the bedrooms; between them, the void becomes an informal living area. A timber deck on one side opens to the courtyard, and a waterbody on the other strengthens the indoor-outdoor connection.
Above, the cantilevered upper volume extends over the entrance and houses a multipurpose room. A concealed steel truss supports the overhang, which also shades the car park below. A bridge links the private bedrooms to the upper room and looks over the double-height living zone and the courtyard, while louvered screens filter daylight and cast shifting shadows across the interior.
A sculptural staircase in steel, set against a plain wall, connects both floors and anchors the circulation. Exposed concrete, solid teak wood, natural stone, and steel appear in raw form, giving the house its plainspoken material character. Inside, each room is tailored to its user, with subtle shifts in finish and material, but the larger logic remains consistent: reduce, clarify, and let structure, light, and use do the work.
Photography courtesy of Crest Architects
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