AR Emerging Architecture 2009 Winner 3 of 4: Curtain Door, Surat, India by Matharoo Associates

This door by the architectural firm Matharaoo Associates is designed to resemble a sine wave. Now in the home of a diamond merchant in Surat, India, the door measures 5.2m high and 1.7m wide and is made from 40 blocks of teak. Thanks to 160 pulleys and 80 ball bearings, it pushes open easily, despite its weight.

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 of254mm-thick Burma teak. Each section is carved so that the door integrates 160 pulleys, 80 ball bearings, a wire-rope and a counterweight 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 as inusoidal 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

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