Semi Building Semi Landscape

Project Name: Semi Building Semi Landscape
Authors: Ego Design Studio & Down To Earth

CITATION

Small peri-urban sites present a unique opportunity for the design of housing built with simple means and materials for a large section of society in the Indian context, where opportunities of building close to the ground are no longer viable in urban areas. This house sits on a small section of a corner plot, a part of a continuous terrain, exaggerated by the presence of this unique structure.

Addressing all its limitations and challenges of building on the slope, the house transforms itself into a part of the geometry of the land with the roof lending itself to the landscape and, on this small private corner, a public space. In essence, the architecture recognises the proximity of the site to the equator, accounting for sharp direct sunlight and creating an inverse model, where the veranda opens into a rich private garden. The seemingly heavy roof of the house extends to meet the street while a geometric movement in the opposite direction opens up the volume of the internal space.

The internal spatial logic of the house resourcefully generates a climatic response through the skylight that brings light to the sanctum, and a large sliding bedroom door that opens up the structure for cross-ventilation through the full-like space, prompting a movement of breeze from across the courtyard; an eloquent modern expression of the otherwise culturally accepted model of a veranda house.

Built using standard materials, the architects find means in simple ideas like the shuttering of the concrete slab to bring texture and visual complexity into the process. The organisation of the plan, while following a simple setback logic of a tight urban site, uses the angle of the site to its advantage, opening up the core of the house for the inhabitants. The playful geometric resolution – colliding in the plan and the section – brings a sense of surprise and wonder to the exterior form and the interior spatial logic of the house.

Critically, for a modest house on a small site, the design of the roof makes a large and generous gesture towards a public space – a space for children to play, the elderly to sit and the community to gather around. For this rare and essential intent and gesture, and for the eloquent way in which this contemporary house negotiates concerns of climate, material and terrain, the Semi Building Semi Landscape house by Ego Design Studio & Down to Earth is awarded a Citation for The Merit List.