In the West, bricks are almost always used to create straight, uniform walls in rectilinear buildings. India, on the other hand, has a long history of sculptural brickwork, using these basic architectural building blocks to form complex shapes and patterns in a mélange of red, orange, and golden hues. Some of the most visually spectacular examples of this include stunning geometric step wells and the Hindu temples of Bengal, where the bricks are mixed with both figurative and decorative terracotta relief plates.

Upon being asked, ADS had just completed the client’s home, “Wall House,” itself a contemporary residence clad in weathered steel occupying nearly 7,000 square feet. Built out to the edges of the plot, the home embraces the ongoing trend of inscrutable street-facing facades concealing luxurious courtyards, lawns, and pools. Not wanting to take up too much of the public lands, the architects managed to convince the client to use the lot across the street in a way that gave back to his fellow citizens instead of expanding his private complex.
“The client enjoys a sense of pride and joy of ownership seeing the space put to good use,” say the architects, who add that “as a decision to introduce another architectural expression to the community, the building took cues from Bengal’s terracotta temples. Exposed brick masonry walls inlaid with ceramic blocks define the building character as a contemporary expression of the...