T Nagar Shop-cum-Residence

A textile shop on the ground floor, the owner's family living directly above it, on one of the busiest retail stretches in T Nagar. The old building had one staircase for everyone, customers, staff and family alike, and it wasn't unusual for a shopper to wander up a flight looking for the restroom and end up in someone's living room.

We gave the residence its own entrance around the side of the building, away from the shopfront entirely, and insulated the floor slab between the two levels so the sound of the shop stays where it belongs. The family still hears the street from their windows, but the shop itself has gone quiet from upstairs. That alone changed how the evenings feel.