This residence delights the eye with its simplicity

House of Design Stories takes a minimal direction in terms of spatial planning and materiality for this Chennai home.

Curated by: Rupali Sebastian
Photographs: Kaushik Srestaluri; courtesy House of Design Stories

The site

This four-bedroom, 2,450-sq-ft home for a family of four sits on a 2,400-sq-ft piece of land. The planning parameters involved careful understanding of the context to resolve site constraints. The site, being located in a congested locality, had concerns on privacy and ventilation.

The brief

The client’s requirement for a simple, well-lit and well-ventilated layout, to complement their simple lifestyle and their love for rootedness is a start for this design.

The design response

Thendral means a calm breeze in Tamil, and it also captures the core of this well-ventilated and naturally-lit residence in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. “The residence takes a minimal direction both in terms of spatial planning and materiality creating a subtle romance between the two,” say architects Anu Krithika and Arul Maniyan of House of Design Stories. Metal screens, spanning the entire stretch of the front facade, is one of the main features of the residence. These wrap the balcony, acting as a security feature. Additionally, “since the bedrooms have been planned with large openings, the screens also create a visual barrier,” state the architects. The porosity of the pattern on the screen is calibrated according to demands of reducing heat: the private levels have a denser design to cut off direct heat and the rest are left more porous. The other expanses are kept white to highlight the jaalis appropriately. During the day, the metal screens cast beautiful shadows in the balcony and inside the bedrooms as well.

The spatial flow

The house adapts a simple spatial layout with free flow of spaces and is well-planned with two outdoor courts. The front court, a landscaped parcel, combines as an entrance giving a pleasant inviting look to the house. It is a semi-private space overlooking the road. The second court is intimately planned to flow from the dining room and is also guarded with metal framework for more security. All the spaces have been planned in a way such that they open into either one of the courts.

The material palette

The materiality reflects the simple lifestyle of the home-owners. The palette includes white with grey accents, metal works, solid wood and Aathangudi tiles. Metal framework and meshwork are planned as a translucent partition to bind spaces.

To give the house a touch of tradition, Ghana teakwood, a low budget option to solid teak, is used for the shutters and furniture pieces. The built-in furniture pieces are tastefully crafted in solid wood and also in combination with metal in certain areas. The windows and doors are made of solid wood which is carefully designed, thus maintaining the minimalism as well as retaining the essence of tradition while ensuring security and durability.

“Aathangudi tiles used for the flooring are homemade and the colours were derived mathematically and theoretically to achieve the pastel tones we envisioned,” reveals the duo. “The moulds and colour pigments were custom-made with respect to our design and to complement the other elements of the house in a holistic approach. The mould is taken as a replica of the metal screen. The rest of the flooring were done with Kota stone to complement the tiles.”

The highlights

“Our design philosophy stands by understanding the clients to reflect their character and qualities in the design, and thus make it more personalised for them,” state Anu and Arul. “Likewise, in Thendral we endeavoured to craft the clients’ dream residence by taking into account their personal sensibilities and preferences. Our ultimate goal of creating a space that our client would enjoy and cherish for the years to come came true with this project.”