This is the second experimental house in a series of living breathing houses, which explores climatic response for the tropics. The site is a typical barren urban plot located near Edapally, Eranakulam, South India. Due to the location in the tropics, local winds and driving rains, so characteristic of tropical weather gets amplified at the site. The site has an area of 5.6 Cents. Area of the building is 2786.84 SqFt.
A natural earthen palette of polished concrete flooring and teakwood, with bright colours on the furniture and lampshades, in hues of magenta, yellow and green was used for the interiors. The furniture and the lampshades were also designed and fabricated by the architects, in their workshops. The skill and craftsmanship of traditional wood workers and blacksmiths were used in developing the ethnic palette reflecting on the culture of the region.
The site surroundings being rather unremarkable with no specific features as such; the life of the house had to be generated from the interiors. The house is designed around 3 courtyards as focal points and we built all the other spaces around it. We had arrived at the different living spaces by interlocking different volumes and playfully staggering the heights, with respect to the position of the courtyards. The family required a segregation of public and private spaces which was achieved through the same.
Experiments were carried out with ventilation, shading and materials to make the house climatically responsible in the tropics. A palette of polished concrete flooring, wood and lampshades, in hues of magenta, yellow and green was used for the interiors. The furniture and lampshades were also designed and fabricated by us in our workshops. The skill and workmanship of traditional wood workers were used in developing the ethnic palette reflecting on the culture of the region.
Material Used :
1. Tiles – Nitco Tropical
2. Lighting - Jaquar, Ushas Associates
3. Color - Asian Paints - Santha Paints
4. Sanitaryware - Villroy and Boch - Tropical
5. Bath Fittings - Grohe - Tropical
6. Furniture - Studio NO
7. Furnishing - FabIndia
8. Hardware - Spider Gunashenoy Hardwares
9. Kitchen Sink - Franke - Tropical
10. Ply - SwatPly - KN Traders
11. Veneer - Greenlam - KN Traders
12. Laminates - Greenlam - KN Traders
13. Concrete Floor - Floortech
14. Air Conditioning - Daikin
