A home that feels remembered before it is experienced, The Slow Fields House – located in Majara village rekindles the warmth of vernacular architecture amidst a serene setting. 

Set within an agricultural landscape, around 50 kilometers from Ahmedabad, the house sits on the client’s ancestral farmland, surrounded by fields, grazing paths, and the gentle rhythms of village life. This weekend retreat evokes childhood memories of warmth, humble spaces, and a courtyard where everyday life unfolds unhurriedly — while local Rabari pastoralists pass through the fields and neighbors arrive with quiet familiarity.

The brief was rooted in emotion as much as function. The client desired a weekend getaway that would recall the spirit of their ancestral village house, but reinterpret it for occasional contemporary living. The design needed two distinct levels: the ground floor for the caretaker and visiting relatives, and the upper floor for the client’s own stays. The landscape is simple and low-maintenance, composed of native plants rather than manicured lawns. The approach to the house was intentionally conceived as a slow meander through a web of interconnected paths, allowing the structure to reveal itself gradually, much like a memory resurfacing. Importantly, the home was to remain open and welcoming to the community—especially local elders. All this was to be achieved while responding sensitively to the region’s hot, dry climate.

The planning of the house addressed these layered requirements through a design centered around the courtyard, which became the home’s spatial, emotional and social nucleus. The building is arranged as a series of thresholds; plinth, verandah, jaali screen, courtyard, each softening the transition between inside and outside. The form draws from familiar regional typologies: sloping clay-tiled roofs, extended eaves that provide shade, and deep verandahs that act as breathing spaces throughout the day. A lightweight spiral staircase ties the lower and upper levels together, adding visual movement without overwhelming the simplicity of the structure. The circulation is calm and fluid, with shaded passages encouraging a slow pace as one moves through the home.

Material choices further root the project in its context. Textured plastered walls soften the massing and recall traditional village homes. Terracotta jaalis line the south-west shaded portico, enabling cross-ventilation while casting intricate patterns of light on the natural stone floors. Indian stone flooring composed of kota and kadappa stones ensures durability and thermal comfort, and invites visitors to sit on the floor, as is customary in this part of the world. At the heart of the entrance courtyard sits a carefully nurtured bonsai, tended by the client for years, symbolizing continuity, patience, and the personal history that grounds the home. 

The experience of inhabiting the home is guided by sensory stillness—dappled sunlight, shifting shade, the breeze moving through perforated screens, and long views toward the fields. The spaces are scaled to host people generously, replicating the social openness of traditional village households. The home becomes a setting for unhurried interactions: conversations under the verandah, children playing in the courtyard, elders resting in the filtered light.

This weekend home offers more than a temporary retreat, it becomes a continuation of the land’s legacy and the family’s memory. It preserves cultural rituals of hospitality, honors local craftsmanship, and celebrates the understated beauty of rural Gujarat. The entire construction strategy is intentionally simple and robust, acknowledging that the home is occupied only intermittently. By reimagining the ancestral village home through a modern lens, the project contributes meaningfully to its environment and community, shaping a place where memory, landscape, and architecture coexist with quiet dignity.

·       Project name: Slow fields house 

·       Architecture firm: Studionine Architects

·       Principal architect: Ar.Tapan Shah

·       Project location: Majara village, Prantij, Gujarat, India

·       Plot Area: 50000 sqft

·       Building Area: 3500 sqft

·       Photography: Maulik Patel / Inclined Studio

·       Design team: Chinmay, Hiren and Yana

·       Design year: 2024

·       Completion year: 2025

·       Supervision: Studionine Architects

·       Client: Private

·       Status: Built

·       Typology: Farmhouse / Weekdend house 

·       Text : Niharika Joshi