DESIGN INTENT

The Site of this House was at the foothills of the Karla caves, around 125 kms from the city of Mumbai. There was Open-ness all around with the Horizon visible for a long distance all-around. Sunrise and Sunset could be beautifully seen from this Plot. During monsoons especially, the plot was surrounded by lush green paddy fields on its south side while towards the north side the slope of the hills gradually started.

view from west with stone West wall seen on right side. On left is sloping roof of the double height volume in background.

Horizon open endlessly

This Weekend house was to be designed as a Family house with large number of people visiting it. With this in mind and as a response to this, the Weekend house was conceptualized around the theme of ‘open-ness yet protected’ – as much as from the sunny days as from the wind driven rainy days of extreme monsoon that is experienced here. It had to have a vertical connect within the house so that group of people at the upper floor could interact freely with the people at the lower floor. The Double height volume of the living space achieves this.

CLIMATE RESPONSIVE + CONTEXTUAL DESIGN

The house is shielded from the Sun on the South and West by thick locally available Basalt stone walls which form the Spine of the house. Towards the South west corner and North there are deep roof overhangs to shield the openings from the wind-driven breeze.

Through the double height living space it connects vertically to the upper floor. This double height continues to the North verandah which opens out majestically to the hills on this side. The House was designed to open simultaneously on all 4-sides.

Thick basalt stone walls form the Spine of the house

The house opens out on 4-sides simultaneously

The dominant wind direction here is from the South-west and West. During summers when the surroundings are dry it gets really hot here. Dry winds blow from these directions that bring in the extreme hot air. To counter the hot sun from the South and West side, the outer walls of the upper floors of East and South facing direction are built as Cavity walls. There is a thick stone wall on West with additional buffer of the Toilet on this side that insulates it from this West side.

Further this upper Volume is cantilevered out to provide Shade to the lower Kitchen volume through-out the Day. Especially during the peak afternoon time this projecting Volume completely shades the Kitchen windows.

1st floor with Cavity walls on East
and South sides + Thick Stone wall
on West with additional Toilet
buffer

Projecting upper floor Volume shading the lower volume

Further to remove the hot air that would enter the double height Volume, roof Ventilators have been provided to remove this air. To do this the Sectional Volume of the house has been played with as shown below :

The horizon that is visible all around with the rolling hills of the Western Ghats making the experience of being in the house an unforgettable experience. Large overhanging roofs provide enough shade to enable residents to lounge in the cool breeze.

The thick Basalt walls, the strategically placed openings and the overhanging roof create sets the right mood for a Weekend house.