“Where daylight floods in
And the cool
breeze blows,
Nature peeks
in
And just
flows.”
The house
designed by Architect Murali for the young “IT couple”
Mrs.
Shantipriya and Mr. Mohan, boldly voices the thought above.
“Music
is liquid architecture and architecture - frozen music”.
As the saying goes, this residence built for the
couple is music to eyes, with nature playing the tunes. The architect as the
real composer has orchestrated every note of this Concrete melody.
The clients turned out as NATURE LOVERS and had good
beliefs in concepts like recycling, conserving energy, and use of natural
materials etc. They wanted a house that shared its space with nature, native plants,
birds, and hugged natural cycles, ecology and order to its bosom.
Integrating these ideas in mind the architect has
Designed the residence in such a way that, it is
Ø Open ended
Ø
Free flowing
Ø
Visually interconnecting
Ø
Natural and organic
The house is minimalistic, well ventilated and
very well secured as the clients wanted. The IT couple were on a lot of onsite
assignments. They also have a young baby. Many a times one of them used to be
away while the baby stayed with the other. When on work the grandmother stayed
at home taking care of the baby. Relating to this situation the architect has
catered to the security needs in quite a remarkable way. The balconies overlooking
the sea are covered with bamboo grills for VISUAL CONNECTION and safety. A gabion wall acts as the compound wall,
serving as a secure barricade around the house with windows inside, without
grills. The wall has irregular perforations along with beautifully cut bamboo pieces facilitating a good air
flow and casting interesting shadows
that are a visual delight. The staircase handrails made of bamboo run long
and tall for the safety of the young ones who are vulnerable to a fall.
The site where the entire residence stands has a
proximity to the sea. The clients always loved to have a morning stroll in the beach.
Wrapping up this idea, the architect has tactfully connected spaces in the
residence with the exterior and beyond. He has designed spaces in a way that it
connects with the nature all around. Thereby all interior spaces are connected
to the green spaces, and the water bodies through the large French doors. The
bamboo pergolas let the warm daylight in, livening up the spaces with a play of shadows. These are composite
bamboo pergolas along with concealed M.S rod and concrete. Spaces such as the
bedroom, dining and living, virtually extend out connecting to the sky and sea.
And one of the highpoints of this well executed
project is that the architect wanted to give an opportunity for the local
craftsmen to chip-in, in the making of the entire house. So he has gone a step
further, giving life to dying local craftsmanship such as making of stone
walls, stone masonry, etc in the house.
Solving one wish after another with his easy
design solutions, the architect felt that all the requirements could fit in
only by creating a house in multi levels,
as the land available was not lavish. So as one moves around the entire house,
it takes you on levels and planes.
The architect has also diplomatically brought in
all the setbacks required to satisfy the corporation norms, into the design of
the entire residence, owing to the 1450 sq. Ft of area that was available to
him. Thus, showing no wastage of spaces anywhere.
This is a reminder, of how the architect has
sensitively employed the concept of recycling in many parts of the design on
more than one instance. The cut bamboos that were left over after the making of
staircase handrails, balcony grills and pergolas were inserted in the gabion
walls to let in more air and facilitate a good air flow. The stones used in the
gabion wall were leftover small broken pieces, supplied by the client’s father,
a road contractor by profession. The residuals were used as fillers for the
pavement.
This concept of multi use has been mirrored into
the interiors as well. The island kitchen with a counter that doubles up as the
dining and a study
Working table. The mother’s room flexibly merges
into a family get together space when she is out of town. Even the staircase
mid landing is extendable to form a media room where television and movie
projections could be entertained. And there is something for the kids too. The
car park could also be used as a sand pit (partly green) for children to play
in.
The residence also takes on its shoulders, the
task of conserving energy. Solar panels operate at the terrace providing solar
power for basic lighting and water heating needs. Daylight floods in all spaces
possible, minimising the usage of artificial lighting anywhere, during the day.
And owing to the numerous openings, there is constant flow of cool breeze in
all the spaces making one think twice on switching on the fan.
The house has a raw feel like everything natural does with unpainted plastered
walls, exposed concrete ceiling; rough stone finishes and cement flooring. It generates
a palette of natural colours ranging from grey, white, and brown to cream,
yellow, and green’s to one’s eyes. Organic materials are used in many a places
in the residence.
Last but not least, the architect has also added
special design elements all over the house such as glass floors, bamboo
handrails, gabion walls, built in open air Jacuzzi tub on the terrace and an outdoor
landscaped eat out .The double height ceiling spaces have glass floor at the
first floor level to provide large spatial connections and a kids play area.
Thus, the house stands true to the testament of HOW MUCH DESIGN COULD INSPIRE A COMMON MAN
AND HIS LIFESTYLE. It wraps up everything natural along with it. And as the
architect perceived, the house stands tall and boldly claims “live and let live”.
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