The site is situated in the hills of Coonoor overlooking the tea gardens. The requirement for a weekend home, with a large formal garden, was designed, by the incorporating the hilly, and sloping terrain of the site.

Space: The plan is conceived along the direction of slope, which allowed for the spaces to open into the outdoors at various different levels as guided by the contours. The double height living and dining furthering into a levelled family room, visually invites the tea gardens into the house, from the north. The dining opens in the east to the tea gardens, and to a large formal garden on the west. Addressing the cold climate of coonoor, the garden in the west, served to take advantage of the peak winter sun throughout the day. The bedroom on this floor, opens on the south to a court on the south. The parking was tucked into the contours, along with the spaces for the caretakers.

Structure: Singular system of sloping roof, mirroring the slopes of the context, were exaggerated to scale the spaces. The sloping roof, also allowed to take the advantage of the south sun into the house, while scaling the living spaces in the north, looking down into the tea gardens. The simplified slope of roofs was kept in mind also for the ease of structure, construction and maintenance, over time. The language thus emerged, to express the idea of the outdoor landform, to be continued into the indoor spaces of the house. A composite structure, with the outer skin, being load-bearing, with internal columns to support the double height roof. The floor above, accommodated two bedrooms, with the similar sloping roof, scaling the bedroom, while giving a sense of the sky indoors.

Materials: The locally available stone was used for foundation and parking spaces. The thick walls on the east and west, with specifically designed and scaled openings, provided insulation for the house. The glass façade on the north, was minimized through the design of the scaled sloping roof that allowed for shade and reduced area of glass. Mangalore tiles, over the concrete sloping roof, were used to help reduce heat gain.

Interiors: The large fire place becomes the focal point of the double height space, becoming sculptural and functional at the same time. The white of all the walls, is contrasted with certain red highlighted walls that hold the spaces across levels. The bedrooms with angled balcony, allows for extending the sense of the landscape into the house. The toilets on upper level, contain skylights to invite the sky inside.

Client - Kurien’s | Location - Coonoor, Tamil Nadu | Design Team - Surya Kakani, Bandit Patel | Consultants - Lorem Ipsum

Site Area - Lorem Ipsum | Building Area - Lorem Ipsum | Completion Year – 2010 | Civil Engineers - Lorem Ipsum

SVK library

The site is situated in the hills of Coonoor overlooking the tea gardens. The requirement for a weekend home, with a large formal garden, was designed, by the incorporating the hilly, and sloping terrain of the site.

Space: The plan is conceived along the direction of slope, which allowed for the spaces to open into the outdoors at various different levels as guided by the contours. The double height living and dining furthering into a levelled family room, visually invites the tea gardens into the house, from the north. The dining opens in the east to the tea gardens, and to a large formal garden on the west. Addressing the cold climate of coonoor, the garden in the west, served to take advantage of the peak winter sun throughout the day. The bedroom on this floor, opens on the south to a court on the south. The parking was tucked into the contours, along with the spaces for the caretakers.

Structure: Singular system of sloping roof, mirroring the slopes of the context, were exaggerated to scale the spaces. The sloping roof, also allowed to take the advantage of the south sun into the house, while scaling the living spaces in the north, looking down into the tea gardens. The simplified slope of roofs was kept in mind also for the ease of structure, construction and maintenance, over time. The language thus emerged, to express the idea of the outdoor landform, to be continued into the indoor spaces of the house. A composite structure, with the outer skin, being load-bearing, with internal columns to support the double height roof. The floor above, accommodated two bedrooms, with the similar sloping roof, scaling the bedroom, while giving a sense of the sky indoors.

Materials: The locally available stone was used for foundation and parking spaces. The thick walls on the east and west, with specifically designed and scaled openings, provided insulation for the house. The glass façade on the north, was minimized through the design of the scaled sloping roof that allowed for shade and reduced area of glass. Mangalore tiles, over the concrete sloping roof, were used to help reduce heat gain.

Interiors: The large fire place becomes the focal point of the double height space, becoming sculptural and functional at the same time. The white of all the walls, is contrasted with certain red highlighted walls that hold the spaces across levels. The bedrooms with angled balcony, allows for extending the sense of the landscape into the house. The toilets on upper level, contain skylights to invite the sky inside.

Client - Kurien’s | Location - Coonoor, Tamil Nadu | Design Team - Surya Kakani, Bandit Patel | Consultants - Lorem Ipsum

Site Area - Lorem Ipsum | Building Area - Lorem Ipsum | Completion Year – 2010 | Civil Engineers - Lorem Ipsum

SVK library