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Architecture

03-04-2026

Photographer : Harikrishnan Sasidharan, Divya Rajesh

Text provided by Architect

The old house at the site stood within a family estate, alongside three other residences belonging to the client's father and his siblings. The objective was to fashion a new dwelling, while preserving the existing structure to accommodate the needs of the growing family.

Adapting the original footprint posed a formidable challenge, as the initial design catered to a modest family of four. The revised mandate necessitated the creation of a vacation home, capable of comfortably hosting both our client's family and their sister's family, when they visited their parents. Additionally, a paramount consideration in the design was to ensure that the ground floor of the house provided a warm and inviting space for the parents, when they stayed alone, fostering an environment conducive to enhanced interactions with their extended family members.

The architecture of the house is defined by the geometric lines of the sloping roof, that rests on a regular grid structure, in the middle of an organic landscape. It is designed as a living breathing house, to create a comfortable microclimate, in the interiors. The secondary filigree layer made up of precast concrete panels, create an intermediate semi-open living space that wraps around, and protects the main house. As the house had no boundary walls, it was also important to create a layered inward-looking space, that provides privacy.

Kollam,Kerala,India

Architects	:	NO Architects Designers and Social Artists
Area	:	4750 sq. ft.
Year of Completion	:	2023
Website	:	https://www.instagram.com/noarchitects/?hl=en

Exterior view of Folded Canopy House by NO Architects Designers and Social Artists

Living room of Folded Canopy House by NO Architects Designers and Social Artists

The central living and dining area, acts as the focus of the house, opening out to a water garden. The spaces around it flow continuously, between the functional blocks in and out of the house, so that the children can play and move around freely, throughout the house without being confined by the walls. Four bedrooms are distributed on the two levels of the house to accommodate the needs of the extended family, when required. The kitchen and a small work area was conserved from the original house, and refurbished to fit in the new house.

Dining of Folded Canopy House by NO Architects Designers and Social Artists

Courtyard with Waterbody of Folded Canopy House by NO Architects Designers and Social Artists

Kitchen of Folded Canopy House by NO Architects Designers and Social Artists

Family living of Folded Canopy House by NO Architects Designers and Social Artists

Interiors of the house are in muted tones with a minimal use of pastel shades as accents. The material palette is kept simple, with use of local wood, breathable fabrics and handmade tiles. Metallic finishes like golden, silver and copper are used as highlighters to enhance the spaces. Though the theme focuses on minimalism, carefully curated objects from the original house are retained, and used to define decor of the new house, along with other ethically sourced antique pieces. Interior plantscape is kept minimal for easy maintenance, during vacations.