VILLA VERNACULAR KERALA

We were thinking about simple, geometrical shapes from the beginning. Rectangles and squares are the most functional and neutral shapes. Also, our base material is concrete, although it's mostly associated with coldness, we break it with materials used in the interior. While being inside the villa, you will get a warm touch of culturally matched materials. In combination with natural wood and stone with different textures, such as teak wood, Indian acacia, and Indian rosewood. From the stones, we chose granite, which is used as a strong block outside the villa. Whereas, inside we used a well known in Kerala's architecture laterite, as a decor wall in the office. All of these materials are concentrated in a given location. We also designed a staircase with vegetations, situated in the centre of the ground floor, in parallel to the courtyard of India's houses.

A CONCEPT 

The concept of our villa is based on dealing with isolation and remote work. When designing the building, we focused on coping with the psychological needs of people living in closed spaces, to give them an effective work-life balance.

The whole plot is surrounded by a high concrete fence with only one front entrance. After passing it, you will see a huge rectangular block of concrete. The view might be overwhelming in its size and weight, whereas for the members of the household, gives a sense of protection and privacy from the outside world. The closed and cold front of the villa is a contrast to the interiors open common space on the ground floor and coziness in firsts floor private rooms. Against the locked front, the rest of the exterior of the building is fully glazed, which gives amazing breath to its scale

CLIENT PROFILE 

Family of 4- parents with two daughters- 13 and 15 y.o. The family is moving a lot, so it isn't the first time they are starting to live in a new place. This is why they aren't attached to any specific culture.

Mother is a culinary blogger, now she started writing a cookbook about India's cuisine. The project involves a large kitchen with a lot of storage space. We assume that she was the one who decided to move to Kerala.

Father is a mathematician. He worked remotely earlier, except for meetings with other scientists- now he does zoom calls. In the villa, he will have a private office to focus on work in peace.

Daughters, due to similar age, will have identical, mirrored rooms and shared bathroom. Their rooms will have enough space for a sleep zone and online learning.

The whole family is used to spending time together, starting from small activities as eating meals together- prepared by mum, with the occasional help of daughters- to cycling, hiking, and other outdoor sports. It helps to stay fit and not stuck at home with every action. Just by the entrance to the villa, there will be a utility room for bikes and all the stuff they need for the trips.

Living in the isolation might be hard and problematic for the family. Everyone should have their own private space to rest or work, to avoid conflicts caused by interrupting by the others. Also being constantly surrounded by people could be tiring, which provides to need for escape. On the other hand, even while living with family in the same home, it is easy to move away from each other. This is why we combined two questions and create private spaces for each member of the household, as well as open spaces, which unite families together in their free time.