#ruralarchitecture

In the quiet village of Khandiya in Gujarat’s Panchmahal district, a new house has been built to belong — to the land, its memory, and changing future. At first glance, it seems unassumable : sloped tiled roofs, thick lime-plastered walls, earthen floors, and shaded plinths. But this home is more than a rural dwelling—it’s a critical architectural proposition. One that challenges the dominant binary of tradition versus progress and instead asks: Might we design in ways that evolves rural architectural logic, rather than abandon it in the name of progress? And what if modular design holds the key to evolving rural housing without severing it from its roots? This home, designed for a private client, serves as a working... More

The commission was requested by a couple with a high profile on social media, and the site for its construction was a sunny plot overlooking an artificial lake with four willows along the shore, located in a private neighbourhood in the suburban area of Greater Buenos Aires. BRUTO STUDIO BRUTO STUDIO BRUTO STUDIO BRUTO STUDIO Upon arrival from the street, the sole access point, a tectonic object is perceived, resulting from operations of clean and abstract prisms, not recognisable with the scales of domestic typologies commonly used in the area. A priori, an impenetrable intimacy. Intimacy is not merely a private space or a personal secret, but an effect of language that presupposes an implicit community. This signifies... More

Friscanzana house is a country mansion harmoniously placed in the network of  stone walls and typical paths in the countryside surrounding the Sicilian town of Ragusa. Caption The house consists of a main building, extending lengthwise with a string of broad rooms divided by transversal bearing walls, and two juxtaposed annexes. Caption The project is based on a deep and (auto)ironical analysis of the Sicilian character, meant both as a body of endemic behaviors and as an interpretation of clichés about the “Sicilian man” found in the media and particularly in movies. Caption Fimmina, Masculu, Duminica, Curtigghio, Lagnusia, Calura e Friscanzana, Tivitti (Woman, Man, Sunday, Courtyard/gossip, Lazine... More

Not a Rural House highlights an Italian regulatory paradox. An old crumbling barn to be demolished constrains the shape and height of the new house, forced into the outline of the old ruin. The result is a “fake,” a contemporary home with the appearance of a historic one.  Lorenzo Zandri Memory and history are thus reduced to a blind reiteration of traditional façade finishes or ratios, typical of a time gone by and offspring of abandoned building techniques. If regulations impose a fake rural house, a non-rural house indeed, dressed up in the costume of tradition, architecture has the task of declaring its true nature, unmasking the “ make-up ” of forgery. Lorenzo Zandri Inside, the paradox i... More

Dongshan Island is a healthy community-based neighbourhood creating an alternative urban typology for urbanization in China. It combines the comforts of urban living with the rural DNA of the site and is focused on creating a healthy community. Yet, the density is high: 100 homes per hectare. The area is car free and offers outdoor and shared activities for residents. The land around the residential development is used for allotment gardens and farming, stimulating residents and their children to learn about the origin of healthy food.  Kris Provoost Urban meets rural The client, Huazhang Real Estate, wanted to create a residential development on a rural site, for residents to combine the convenience of urban living with the qu... More

Sited in a rural community on Hidden Hills Lake in Arnaudville, Louisiana, this next home is nestled in the shade of two large Sweet Gum trees. The clients envisioned a place where they could live out the rest of their lives as independently as possible, in a rural area, with limited access to extended family. Andrew Welch Andrew Welch Andrew Welch The result is a single-story home, constructed on a small footprint, with durable, low-maintenance materials both inside and out. The heart of this spacious-feeling home features sky-scraping ceilings that flood the interior with natural light, dissolving a wall of windows into the view of the lake beyond. The space is grounded by an open, dark kitchen, and flanked on either side... More