Located in the heart of Kalaburagi, a hot, semi-arid city in northern Karnataka, our design explores the possibilities for outdoor living as a viable condition within an otherwise harsh climate. The house is organized beneath and upon a walkable parasol that produces deep, continuous shade, regulating both light and temperature, establishing a controlled threshold between indoor and outdoor life. 

Large cut-outs are carved from the parasol to induce constant air movement through the house. The edges of the voids are lined with curtain creepers that fan this volume below and cool it further. The space at the ground level is the nucleus of the house, reinterpreting the traditional internal courtyard, and it’s adjacencies. While retaining its outdoor qualities, it caters to diverse activities and occasions, with a simultaneous influence on almost all of the insides.

 Internally, the ground floor is laid out as an open plan extending uninterrupted to the rear of the house. There are two bedrooms on this level, one for the parents and a second, conceived as a day-room for long summer afternoons. 

A folded metal staircase leads up to the first floor that houses two bedrooms to the front, and a third to the rear with a private, covered terrace. A portion of this terrace is articulated as a raked extension to the family room, also allowing day-light to filter into the dining area below, one of several such instances where diffused light is introduced to wash the interiors.

 The interiors feature true surfaces, expressed through the materiality of Kota stone, repurposed teak wood, form- finished concrete ceilings and lime plastered walls. The walls of the home are thickened to increase thermal mass, with brick as the outer layer and, in some instances, continued internally.

 The terrace is shaded by a smaller, secondary version of the main parasol to create a gathering space for the family in the evenings. It also holds all the utilities, a solar power installation, and other related equipment above it.