Constraint as Catalyst: An 8,000 sq. ft. Chennai Villa by Raw.Designs Studio

Raw.Designs Studio shapes an 8,000 square-foot villa within a developer-imposed envelope on Chennai’s ECR corridor. Set within a gated community that mandates façade uniformity, the residence negotiates luxury from the inside outward. With the exterior envelope retained, the architects establish identity through spatial proportion, interior detailing, and carefully controlled light.Rather than relying on external expression, the design operates through perceptual expansion. Alignment, ceiling modulation, and uninterrupted flooring extend sightlines, establishing continuity across the plan. The plan supports seamless movement with fluting, panel insets, and layered wall treatments that define thresholds without erecting barriers.Structural limitations—particularly modest ceiling heights—prompt visual verticality in […]