Excerpt: Shila house Designed by POEM- People Of Earth and Matter, in Calicut, India, is a tropical house which is derived from both- modern architectural elements and traditional planning concepts. The broad windows and traditional courtyard that blend into and emerge out of the lush tropical landscape, create surreal spatial experiences from the interior, transitional, and exterior facets of the house. Such duality in the ideology is carried-out through all the elements that make up the Shila house.
Project Description
[Text as submitted by architect] Set amidst the green, this tranquil home in Kerala, India, is an amalgamation of modern architecture elements from tropical architecture, emphasizing the central courtyard and traditional planning concepts. This residential building molded into an ancestral home making space for family gatherings and functions. Modern amenities and broad windows in conjunction with an open-to-sky courtyard make the home well-lit and ventilated. The lush green and trees in the surroundings together with the lush tropical landscape merge into the interiors delivering a surreal spatial experience in the living spaces.
The building faces east to where the site was originally slanting, making the orientation ideal, considering the microclimate of the location. The house has four blocks with a central courtyard. An existing building on the site on the west side was aesthetically renovated and was considered adaptive reuse for a dermatology clinic for the client. The access road towards the site reaches the west side first, passes the clinic, and then approaches the front yard, thus limiting the patients from interfering in the family interactions in the front yard. The two-storeyed part of the building shades the front yard and open living spaces amplifying the ambiance during evenings.
The wide sit-out leads into a vast open space with a central courtyard and formal living, dining, and family living spaces on the three sides. The bedrooms zoned along the side of the courtyard with the stairs add a factor of privacy. The family living opens into the cooking kitchen, programmed to have family interactions while cooking. A secondary kitchen and work area are attached to the cooking kitchen to facilitate heavy cooking, dishwashing, and laundry.
The construction techniques and materials used in the building were highly experimental, research-based, and thus highly effective in the climatic, aesthetic, and functional aspects. Precast GFRG panels used for walls, which are leaner and sturdy than usual brick masonry, also facilitated high speed of construction, cost-effectiveness, and heat insulation. Wooden slabs were used instead of concrete slabs for the bedrooms giving the ambiance of the traditional ceilings and effective cooling in those spaces. Also, wooden planks are laid with tongue and groove joints atop steel rafters, the roof tile rests upon wooden battens screwed into the wooden planks.
The colors and finishes were deliberately made subtle & pastel for a soothing ambiance. Wooden elements in the ceiling embed contrast with columns and furniture, creating harmony in the interiors. The exterior color palette exhibits the traditional roof tiles in their raw form.
The project as a whole sits in harmony with the calm and lush green scenery, yet offers all modern functional facilities without compromising on traditional planning and zoning concepts.
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