In Saudi Arabia, in the Mada’in Saleh rock tombs, a rather interesting inspiration was underway. Architectural designer Amey Kandalgaonkar came up with the idea for a modern home built into the side of a humongous rock. You can think of it as looking like a Chinese puzzle box and when you see the aerial view, you find out that there is much more to the construction than first meets the eye.
Kandalgoankar is well known for his creation of 3-D concept renders and he took a long time to work on the form and shape of this home by studying the rock in advance. Known as the ‘House inside a Rock’, it offers surprises at every turn.
“Considering the visual complexity of the rocks at Mada’in Saleh, it was imperative to use simple planes and cubes in order to achieve a visual balance,” the Shanghai-based architect explains. “I started out creating the rock in 3D software which in itself was a sculpting process. Later when inserting the house into this rock, I tried to keep its visual impact from eye level as minimum as possible and only when observed from a birds-eye, the real extent of the intervention is revealed.”
The rough texture of the rock blends perfectly with the smooth concrete surface. By meshing this together, Kandalgoankar is able to put together a contrast that is delightful to the senses. Not only is it minimalistic, but the textures also complement each other to bring about something that most of us had never even considered possible.
The Mada’in Saleh rock tombs in Saudi Arabia provided inspiration for this unique architectural concept.
The modern design really does not fully express itself until you see it from an aerial view.
