Interior designer and architect Noor Dasmesh Singh does not identify with a specific sensibility—his approach, instead, is deeply intuitive. For a friend’s Chandigarh residence, Singh’s firm NOOR Architects Consultants reinvented a standard builder-given layout into a fluid floor plan that is both whimsical and relaxingly familiar. “It is very organic; there was nothing preconceived,” says Singh, “The way we experience spaces and the way we have done projects in the past has always been a little bit of an eclectic mix. The one key word that stuck with me was “India modern.”

The main structural change involved combining the dining area and an adjacent room into a single fluid dining and lounge space—both of which remain distinct but are freely interconnected. An outdoor terrace has been fitted with a retractable roof, and serves as an extended gathering space with plush furnishings. Additionally, two bedrooms were slightly restructured to accommodate a prayer room, complete with a hand-crafted mandir with brass inlays and vernacular motifs, custom-made in Kolkata. The living room is partitioned from the dining area by a large circular doorway—this geometric form reappears throughout the interior design of the home in nuanced ways, acting as unifying thread. “There are certain geometries that resonate with you in different ways,” explains Singh, “We carved out the circular opening, and then other elements with similar geometries to compliment this followed.”

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