A house built in 1904 for the family of Mangaldas Girdhardas, represents the colonial heritage architecture of the early 20th century, having many different courtyards and verandas filled with various vegetations. It is said that this house is designed and built by the craftsmen from the locality and nearby villages.
The building has gone through many transformations from 1904 to present (2021). For instance, the indoor Lotus Pool in the late 20th century was a Dispensary, when the building was occupied by clinics, school and hospital, and initially this space was for the Industrial Bank, which was added as a new wing to the house. Similarly, The present day Ahmedabad Trunk Retail Store was Parekh’s Department offices in the late 20th century, and initially this area was made to be used as a store room for the housemates.
Reflecting on the spatial qualities of the house, the House of MG gave varied experiences throughout, but not compromising on the language and style of the building. When observed, all the enclosed spaces in the house had jack arch slabs.
All the openings which were initially made were the same, with lintels at ten feet from the floor, and the windows had a sill at three feet. This dimension relates to the majestic proportions of the spaces, which have ceilings at four meter high. These spaces opened up to the outer courtyards, having a veranda in between as a threshold. All such different verandas and courtyards gave a homely feel to the habitants. The circulation through the verandas gradually ends into a terrace garden. His terrace garden further goes down with a nice play in the levels. It has a climb down two floors with terraces at different heights which breaks the monotonous movement, while we can easily climb up or down these terraces without getting tired.
BODY MEMORY ARCHITECTURE 