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The Monolithic House by The Design Pursuit

Architecture

2024

Photographer : Divya Rajesh

The client sought a home for his family of three, to be built on a 5-cent corner plot in a housing colony of many similar small plots, in the city of Cochin, Kerala. Anticipating a crowded neighborhood as other plots filled up, ensuring optimum privacy for the family without compromising on daylight and ventilation became a crucial design challenge. 

The house strives to achieve a stark simplicity that contrasts with the visual noise of the modern world, presenting architecture as functional art responding to context. Almost monolithic in form, with a few punctures for windows, the expression of this house to the neighborhood reveals very little. 

For the client—a young couple with a kid, engaged in a busy lifestyle—their limited time at home needs to be a deeply restorative experience. They did not require an ornate home which would overwhelm them, or become a maintenance hassle. The frugal approach adopted in designing this project caters to the young city dwellers yearning to build a home in the urban context—where land rates are high and the neighborhood is crammed. 

Breaking away from the tendency to provide large windows, the design explores a more controlled interaction between interior and exterior spaces. Contrary to the expectation set by the character of the exterior, the rooms within are brightly lit—with daylight flooding in through skylights and ribbon windows.

Louis Kahn said, ‘Each space must be defined by its structure and the character of its natural light’. The skylit stairwell—only partly visible upon entering the house—reveals the daylight spilling down into the living, while consciously hiding its source. 

Ernakulam,Kerala,India

Architects : The Design Pursuit
Area : 2350 sq. ft.
Year : 2024
Website : https://www.instagram.com/the.design.pursuit?igsh=MTg5dHVwdnhyOHB6eQ==

Exterior view of The Monolithic House by The Design Pursuit


Exterior view of The Monolithic House by The Design Pursuit


Living room of The Monolithic House by The Design Pursuit

The plain white walls and the grey floors present a sculptural canvas for the play of shadows, rendering the experience within the space meditative. As evening falls, the atmosphere in the stairwell turns dramatic, with the shadows and colors shifting along with the changing sky.

The living room is situated at the rear part of the house, away from the plot’s entrance. A brief walk along the shaded veranda leading to the foyer allows a transitional journey from the street to the interior of the house—a luxury given the small size of the plot. 

The family lounge is a couple steps down, serving as a conversation pit with its in-built sofa, while the dining area features a long ledge seat extending the room's length. The built-in seaters in these common spaces allows a bigger crowd to be accommodated within the compact home, should the need arise. In response to the tropical climate, the windows are deep-set to channel in breezes while shielding harsh sun. Strategically positioned ribbon windows maintain privacy without sacrificing visibility from the indoors.


Dining of The Monolithic House by The Design Pursuit


Dining of The Monolithic House by The Design Pursuit


View from dining area of The Monolithic House by The Design Pursuit


Dining & Kitchen of The Monolithic House by The Design Pursuit


Staircase of The Monolithic House by The Design Pursuit


Staircase view of The Monolithic House by The Design Pursuit

The design presents as an asymmetrically balanced form, grounded in a strong sense of geometry. The house’s solid-void massing discreetly blocks direct views into the private spaces from the outside.  Nestled in an in-set volume, an expansive open-to-sky terrace garden allows the family to gather in the first floor, the space providing a balance of exposure and of enclosure.

The controlled departure from strict purity in form allows the building to accommodate its anomalies –the occasional shade slab that juts out, breaking character of the subtractive volumes. A reduced material palette and the elimination of color in the interiors allows better expression of daylight. The house stands as a modest sanctuary for a small family—imposing in its monolithic presence, yet serene in its essence. 


Staircase view of The Monolithic House by The Design Pursuit


Bedroom of The Monolithic House by The Design Pursuit


Exterior view of The Monolithic House by The Design Pursuit


Ground Floor Plan of The Monolithic House by The Design Pursuit


First Floor Plan of The Monolithic House by The Design Pursuit



Tags
house
architecture
interior design
residential architecture
residential interiors
2024
2000 to 3000 sq.ft
india
kerala
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