The Architectural Review’s Emerging Architecture Awards, sponsored by Ramboll and Austin-Smith:Lord, celebrates the best pieces of design by young architects from across the world. The door alone to this diamond merchant’s residence in Surat, India, was judged enough to make it one of the four prize winners this year
At 5.2m high and 1.7m wide, the door is comprised of 40 sections of 254mm-thick Burma teak. Each section is carved so that the door integrates 160 pulleys, 80 ball bearings, a wire-rope and a counter weight hidden within the single pivot.
Stacked one above the other in the closed position, each plank can then rotate by a simple push causing the door to reconfigure into a sinusoidal curve.
Despite only submitting the door for the competition, the accompanying 1700m² showpiece house features a number of similarly inventive components, including a light-emitting onyx wall, which also caught the judges attention.
Architects Matharoo Associates
Location Surat, India
Type of project Residentual Doorway
Project architects Gurjit Singh Matharoo, MC Gajjar, Chandan Suravarapu, Dilip Revar, Harita Salvi
Door contractors DP Traders
Photography credits Dinesh Mehta