Modern House in Kerala Covered in Coconut Plantations and Native Vegetation

This residence is set in a site that is covered in coconut plantations and other native vegetation belonging to a typical northern Kerala landscape: A very quiet and tranquil setting that doesn't invite any kind of intrusions. Altering this and bringing about any kind of change called for a respectful approach.
Thus, this house is considered an entity whose external facade is assigned the duty of ‘screening’ of the built from the unbuilt. This is done to place the volume in the most subtle way by not being in stark contrast with the context. This ‘screen’/ envelope of the house is lined with a layer of landscape in the inner periphery acting as a filtering member for the light and noise from the outside, also enabling a play of light inside during the day. Moreover, fresh and humid air from the surroundings is brought in, filtered, and spread to different corners of the house. The facade metaphorically represents a ‘lantern’ where the external envelope shields and glorifies the beauty of the inner core - the light or the function; literally being witnessed during the night.
The design follows a clean, straightforward elevation where windows and doors are wrapped inside without revealing their identity, producing a monolithic form. Once entering the house, the visitor is welcomed to a larger volume where all the common spaces are dynamically knit into one with an elongated water body by the entrance. Walls are intentionally kept minimal to provide unfettered access to the landscape in the periphery while ensuring the required privacy for bedrooms. While the screen and the subsequent landscape layer control the view towards the inner areas, the users are able to have a filtered view towards the outside through the same. This more or less thins the idea of having an opaque boundary to the volume, but serving its purpose of providing security going with an absolutely open planning. The palette for finishes in the interiors is mostly neutral to original shades without compromising this uncluttered appeal.
HOUSES TIRUR, INDIA
Architects: Zero Studio
Area: 5200 ft²
Year: 2022
Photographs: Ar Hamid MM
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