Excerpt: Brick Screen House is a residence designed by the architectural firm HONEYCOMB architects. The brick screen house is a renovation project envisioned as a synthesis of contextual parameters and user functional requirements. The project promises a better living environment for the client than the old congested, messy house, which also architecturally enhances the location’s climatic and contextual potential. The main design intent was to blur the boundaries between the built and the natural elements.
Project Description
[Text as submitted by Architect] The brick screen house is a renovation project envisioned as a synthesis of contextual parameters and user functional requirements. The project promises a better living environment for the client than the old congested, messy house, which also architecturally enhances the location’s climatic and contextual potential. The main design intent was to blur the boundaries between the built and the natural elements.
This is a south-facing corner plot in a tropical location experiencing long monsoons and hot summers. The project plot has an entry road and large open plots in front, existing houses on the northern and eastern sides, and a side road in the west. The concept is seamlessly blended with the context in a way that it’s a play of multi-directional air movement in the house.
CONCEPT
Since there is a presence of more local winds on the south side, which formulates the concept of a perforated screen in the front façade, which effortlessly directs the wind and protects the building from the harsh southern sun.
This brick screen maintains a comfortable internal temperature all the time. The screening is even more efficient by providing green patches in the sunshade between the building and façade; extended sunshade space also acts as a buffer for protecting and heating walls, thus performing as double skin for the building.
The facade screen is designed so that each brick is kept in a zig-zag manner in horizontal and vertical directions. This arrangement creates small diagonal openings. When air passes through these small openings, the air becomes even cooler and maintains a comfortable temperature in the building. The thoughtful selection and strategically applied natural materials for the façade protect the main walls from heating up and allows air movement simultaneously.
LAYOUT
The layout promises the proper functional flow for the spaces. The sit-out in the front with customized furniture adds to the total aesthetics of the space. A living room with double height is sandwiched in-between the dining and sits out space; the double height ensures the vertical visual connection and carries out the Stack effect perfectly. Light-colored furnishing in the living area goes along with the home interior and makes the room visually spacious.
A dining area with a lush green internal courtyard also plays a significant role in making the space cooler and cozy. The unconventional arrangement of the courtyard produces more dynamic spaces inside. The roof slab’s opening allows the area’s sunlight and moonlight to make the space magnificent.
Most of the furniture is designed and cast on site. Colored laminates used for the table tops create an acceptable vibrancy inside. Two bedrooms on the ground floor have proper cross ventilation. Natural lighting and interiors compliment the entire design character. These bedrooms follow the same color palette for almost all furniture.
The first floor, with three bedrooms and family living, has exposed concrete ceilings that follow the entire structure’s rustic and sustainable character. The angled pattern for the handrails and Kota green shade in the flooring matches perfectly with the interiors. A simple contemporary bookshelf with indoor hanging plants adds more aesthetics to the TV wall in the family living. Each bedroom interior is done with a customized cot, study tables, and side tables considering the user’s architectural interests. All the bedrooms have exposed concrete ceilings with minimal wooden reaper works.
The bedroom on the first floor in the southwest corner has a brick backdrop with sensibly chosen photo frames. These elements were considered and kept raw in their form to make the space even more sustainable. The colored laminate ceiling becomes an interesting interior element with the total interior design character. The brick and cement grey color complement each other and make the space better.
The other two bedrooms on the first floor have their unique interior characteristics. The different color in the laminate defines the entire character of the rooms. The material palette is kept very minimal and sensible. The selection of natural paving, flooring materials, plants, and landscape elements was carefully done and applied very sensibly in the project, which blends with total design and context—built structure and the landscape blend together to form a cozy and very positive atmosphere throughout the project.
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