Hilal Residence: A Structural Addition in DHA Phase 6, Karachi

Hilal Residence is an 11,000 sq ft family home in DHA Phase 6, Karachi. The owners did not want to move. They wanted the house they already had to work like a new one. That meant a structural addition, a new layout across three levels, and a roof they could actually use.

This post covers the architecture: the structure, the light and the build. For the finished interiors, read Inside Hilal Residence: Modern Interior Design in Karachi.

The brief: an older house that worked against its owners

The original house had problems common in older DHA homes. Walls boxed the rooms in. Ceilings were low. The middle of the plan got little daylight. The roof took the full afternoon sun and sat empty.

The brief asked for three things:

• An open ground floor built around the kitchen and dining area.
• Larger bedroom suites upstairs, each with its own dressing area.
• A rooftop lounge for hosting, with a shaded terrace.

Fresh paint would not get there. We reworked the plan and added new reinforced concrete frames, tied into the existing structure. Taking out internal masonry walls opened clear sightlines from the entrance through to the rear courtyard. You can see more of the house on the Hilal Residence project page.

Working with Karachi's climate

Karachi is hot and humid, but it has a dependable sea breeze from the south-west. The massing of Hilal Residence shields the house from the low western sun and lets that breeze move through the main living spaces.

Large windows sit back behind deep overhangs, so rooms get daylight without direct sun on the glass. The south and east sides use floor-to-ceiling sliding doors with performance glazing that lets light in while cutting heat. That lowers the cooling load on hot afternoons.

High-level windows and the open stairwell bring daylight into the centre of the plan, so there are no dark corridors. On the roof, deep canopies shade the terrace. What was a heat-soaked slab is now an outdoor room.

Materials that show what they do

The material palette is short: microcement, dark oak veneer, stone and powder-coated steel. Each one does a clear job instead of being applied as decoration.

In the living areas, microcement ceilings sit against fluted timber wall panels. In the kitchen, matte sage and taupe fluted joinery pairs with grey marble islands. Storage and appliances sit behind flat panels, so the working kitchen stays out of sight.

Upstairs, the bedroom suites use upholstered beds, chevron timber floors and steel-framed glass partitions. Dressing areas have dark oak joinery with built-in 3000K LED strips. Bathrooms use pale stone, walk-in showers and floating vanities.

Building it: tying new structure into old

Adding structure to a house in a built-up neighbourhood needs careful sequencing. New cast-in-place columns took load from the existing masonry walls in stages, so the old and new parts of the building would not settle at different rates.

We prepared full construction drawings for DHA approval, covering foundation extensions, boundary wall details and door and window schedules. On site, we required shop drawings and physical mock-ups before any joinery was made. That kept sliding doors, recessed skirtings and ceiling shadow gaps aligned across all three levels.

Air-conditioning ducts run beside the beams and lighting troughs, inside dropped zones over corridors and wardrobes. The main rooms keep their full ceiling height. To estimate a similar renovation, try our construction cost calculator.

How the three levels are used

Each level has a clear role: family life on the ground floor, privacy on the first, and hosting on the roof.

• Ground floor: a formal salon, family lounge, open dining hall and a wet and dry kitchen with sage cabinetry and marble islands.
• First floor: four bedroom suites, each with a walk-in wardrobe, study desk and en-suite bathroom with a level-access shower.
• Roof: an indoor games lounge with a pool table, opening through full-height sliding doors onto a paved terrace with built-in planters.
• Entrance: a new boundary wall and gate in stone cladding and dark metal louvres, with lit planters along the approach.

The bedrooms stay quiet thanks to solid-core doors with acoustic seals and insulated partitions around the service cores.

Frequently asked questions

How do you add structure to an existing DHA house?

Start with a structural survey of the existing frame and foundations. New foundations are then tied into the existing footings, and the extension is drawn up for DHA approval. At Hilal Residence, new concrete frames were connected to the original structure and loads were transferred in stages.

Do microcement and timber finishes last in Karachi's humidity?

Yes, if they are specified properly. We use moisture-resistant boards under timber veneers, sealed with polyurethane, and sealed microcement that resists damp and salt air.

How do you fit air-conditioning without lowering the ceilings?

Put the ducts and fan-coil units in dropped zones over corridors and wardrobes, where a lower ceiling goes unnoticed. The main rooms keep their full height.

Can a house with many small rooms become open-plan safely?

Yes, but load-bearing walls must be replaced with engineered beams or concrete frames. A structural engineer works out how to transfer the loads before any wall comes down.

Planning a renovation or addition?

If you are planning a structural addition, a major renovation or a new build in Karachi, a clear brief is the best place to start. Use our project brief builder to set out what you need, or contact us to book a consultation.