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- Rohini Gomez Braganza
- November 3, 2020
- 5:30 am
ARTICLE CONTENTS
PROJECT SPECIFICATIONS
Project name: House Chirag
Clients: Dr Parasuram Gopinath and Dr Meenu Batra
Location: Cochin, Kerala, India
Year of completion: 2019
Architecture Firm: 1 Leaping Frog Studio
Design Team: Principal architects Aatira Zacharias and Bhyrav Gowda
Architects Disha, Harshil, Ananjana, Smruthi
Firm’s Website: http://www.1leapingfrog.com/
Built up area: 15,000 sqft
Photography Credits: Gareth Hoover
A quintessential Hindu temple is an elegant reflection of India’s rich and diverse architectural history. Its charm and uniqueness captivates the world for an aesthetic legacy that is vibrant and eternal. The temple’s aesthetic influence and vibe slowly crept into the design of many Indian vernacular homes, bringing in age-old traditions and the use of local craftsmanship, making a home more than just a place to reside. It translated into a place that could indeed be nurturing of spiritual beliefs.
One such 21st century home, metaphorically, is a stunning showcase of everything that is divine and definitive of an Indian temple. The architecture is peacefully pitched onto a longitudinal plot of land, in the midst of a densely populated urban neighborhood in Cochin. With no scenic beauty to survey along the peripheral edge of the property, the building attempts to look inwardly to create its own. The introverted piece of architecture shuns away from distractions and the prying eyes of the world making it a sacrosanct retreat for its occupants. Capturing the essence of Indian cultures and traditions in the most graceful way.
PREREQUISITES AND CONCEPT
Great architecture is always about personifying the built form to match the lifestyle and personality of its occupants. The clients of ‘House Chirag’, are a people of tradition, they are deeply rooted to Hindu customs and rituals, show immense appreciation for local craftsmanship, they like to have a seamless connect with the great outdoors, and possess immense respect towards their family. The architectural intervention had to reflect this entire belief system for the clients, to enable them to define the place as their home.
Vernacular homes of Kerala are traditionally a perfect reflection of all these virtues. Typically large in volume, spacious, sporting sloping terracotta tiled roofs, amply lit and ventilated by centrally located open-to-sky courts. The design team chose to resonate this form of architecture into the scheme, but with a contemporary twist to appeal to the growing family of the 21st century. The scheme would also incorporate a layering system that would politely safeguard the family’s privacy in a veil-like fashion, from the contrasting circumambient context.
THE DESIGN
The design is an aesthetic amalgamation of locally available sustainable materials and local craftsmanship within a contemporary silhouette, tailormade to suit the quintessential Indian family.
Crowning glory
The architecture of ‘House Chirag’ is a unique choreography of roof systems across the design, greatly influencing the character of the house. As one traverses through the property, it also becomes apparent as to how influential the roofing systems are towards the interior scheme. These systems greatly define the purpose, experience and function of the spaces they canopy. For example the double height king-truss sloped roof system instils a sense of grandeur perfect for the formal living space; pergolas translate into apt transition spaces that stitch the outdoors with the indoors; glass panelled roofing systems light up spaces where many other adjoining spaces converge, as seen at the interior courts; single height sloping roof systems create an intimate and warm welcome as seen at the entrance court, a double height lean-to tiled roof and RCC pergola creates an informal environment suitable for a spill out deck and pool.
The roofing also translates the scheme into a sustainable work of architecture, by its sheer expanse. It was specifically designed to harvest solar energy to make it a completely solar powered home. The roofing expanse also becomes beneficial for rainwater harvesting.
Adding more texture to the levitating pattern of roofs is a tasteful and rustic palette of walls and floor finishes. The earthy appeal of the house is contributed by the use of locally procured laterite, terracotta blocks and pavers, making the house appear naturally a part of the landscape. The extensive use of seasonal timber as structural members and fenestration frames crafted by local carpenters, manifest the essence of vernacular houses of the region where traditional woodwork of this nature are typically seen.
Walking into a temple
The footprint of the house begins from the bottle neck profile of the site, and largely expands in width towards its East facing edge. The spaces at the bottleneck are dedicated primarily towards a grand invitation into the property. This instils a respectful and lengthy navigation of grand semi-open corridors, mentally preparing one before reaching the actual sanctum (emulating the Garbagriha of an Indian Temple), where the inhabitants reside.
The greater footprint of the house divides itself into two sections respectively. The first section is designed to welcome guests, accommodating a traditional entry court, a grand double height living area, a formal dining. The second half of the house accommodates the family spaces, both communal and private. The two sections converge at the core that accommodates a spine of skylit courts, corridors and the access staircase to the upper floor level.
Interiors execution
The interiors comprise a tasteful base canvas of earthy natural materials like marble flooring, timber paneled ceilings and decks, dressed laterite walls etc. This canvas is artfully accessorized with chic custom designed furniture and furnishing. Each space of the large carpet area of the house has its own individual sense of identity through its palette of tones and embellishments. What stitches them all together however is their common ethnic and traditional strength.
The uniqueness of each space especially comes alive with the careful selection of embellishments that are hints of the traditional, cultural and religious belief systems of the household. For example a stone statue of Lord Ganesh welcomes the visitor at the commencement of the long entry ramp, or the temple-like pillared entrance court that is flanked on either side with a deepstambh, the sacred tulsi plant, bells; the home mandir located at the central skylit court; locally acquired timber antique artefacts.
Dappled Light
The roofing systems are a great contributor to the generous entry of daylight into the spaces of the large house footprint. The varying intensities of sunlight, tones and hues penetrating through pergolas, terracotta jali blocks and glass roof tiles along the course of the day, choreograph a sense of dynamism across the indoor spaces as they are ever changing. Dappled light patterns kiss the surfaces of rustic finishes, in the manner of an acknowledging ritual. This festive scenery is further enhanced by veiling the house with terracotta clay jalis all along the edge.
A breathing house
Emulating vernacular architecture, ‘House Chirag’ is seamlessly ventilated by the use of traditional tiled roofing and porous laterite. For an architecture of this expanse the patterned terracotta screens veiling the house along the edge, turns into a wonderful invitation to ventilation during sultry spells of the year.
Shaded by palm treats
The warm and rustic appeal of the architecture juxtaposed with a careful selection of lush green landscaping outdoors, procured from a local horticulturist, creates an idyllic picture of a tropical retreat.
CONTEMPORARY VERNACULAR
Today ‘House Chirag’ stands as a proud contemporary adaptation of vernacular architecture within a South Indian context. It’s carefully thought out spaces forms a fine and festive tapestry for the quintessential Indian family. An ethnicity that is deeply rooted with ancient traditional, cultural & religious legacies.
The holistic design also preaches an honest representation of the soil it sits on. Merging seamlessly into the Kerala landscape, being one with nature.
Chirag is indeed definitive of ‘Indian’, both inside and out.
Furniture & Furnishing Procurement list
General :
Traditional timber roof with clay tiles
Laterite walls
Polished teak wood cladding and accent ceiling
Floor marble in common areas / wood finish tiles in bedrooms
Custom designed:
Oxidised copper paint finish developed in-house for the laser cut Backdrop filigree screen
Fabrics (Bed sets / curtains / cushions / Seats)
Locally procured antique Decor:
Block printing slabs (used as wall art)
Ceiling piece (used as wall art)
Bedroom Mirror piece
etc
Vendors:
Wall paints by Asian paints https://www.asianpaints.com/
Wallpapers by, Nilaya by Asian Paints
Light Fixtures by The Purple Turtles https://thepurpleturtles.com/
Light Fixtures by The White Teak Company https://whiteteak.com/
Furniture by MIMI https://mimihomes.nowfloats.com/
Furniture by FAMA from Simply Sofas https://www.simplysofas.in/brand-fama
Furniture by Urban Ladder https://www.urbanladder.com/
Furniture by Script https://www.scriptonline.com/
Custom made furniture by LUXRAYS http://www.luxrays.com/
Custom made furniture by DTALE http://dtaledecor.com/
Carpets sourced from Panipat
Contact us
For any inquiries please email
archivedsgn@gmail.com
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