A dream-home study for a two-storey residence on the Kerala coast, worked out around climate, spatial clarity and material honesty. The house separates public from private by floor: living, dining, guest rooms and shared spaces on the ground, and bedrooms, a family lounge, a studio and a home office above.
The courtyard at the centre does the environmental work — cross ventilation, stack effect, and daylight into the depth of a deep plan — while also being the room the household shares. Terracotta tones, exposed laterite and teak tie the house to the warm tropical landscape around it, and open terraces, a plunge pool and deep verandahs carry the passive cooling outdoors. The building turns towards the sea for both view and breeze.
[ Front elevation — the terracotta screen and the deep verandah that shades it ]
[ Site plan — entrance, residence, pool and garage, set in the planted plot ]
[ Massing — the courtyard cut through the roof, terraces to three sides ]
[ Exploded axonometric — public floor below, private floor above ]
[ Plinth and first floor — public rooms and pool below, bedrooms and terraces above, both wrapped around the courtyard ]
[ Section A-A — the courtyard tree rising the full height of the house ]
[ Section B-B — levels from car port to open terrace ]
[ Seaward side — the plunge pool and the planted wall facing the water ]