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MADHURA

SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE, INTERIORS AND LANDSCAPE DESIGN. COMPLETED, 2023

MADHURA in KANNADA translates to MELODY Madhura is a home designed as a response to the clients' wish for a home reminiscent of their ancestral home in Kampli, Karnataka - a quaint town near Hampi with old dwellings built in mud and stone. The challenge was to re-create a similar experience but one that is set in the current premise of dense urban context of Bengaluru that they now call home. The brief was to create two 3 bhk homes, one for each sibling with shared common spaces like terraces, garden, courtyard, multi purpose room and gym. The home is designed to be a connection to their roots and one that supports their traditional way of life. Based on our initial interactions with the family, we understood that they wanted several formal and informal spaces in the homes where they could socialise and host gatherings, like chamber concerts and religious meets. Music is an intrinsic part of their life and also their inheritance! This was the start point for the architectural design of these two residences where we brought together nature and melody. Having built on a site area of 3000 sft, we decided to stack the houses one above the other so that the built footprint is judiciously managed and also the two houses can be independent as well as private. The planning of these two east facing homes strictly follow the principles of Vastu. The idea was to connect and envelop the built spaces with landscape and natural light. As one enters through the gate, you are surrounded by a garden one one side of the parking and a random rubble stone wall on the other. The tall stone wall at the site edge gives a sense of security and privacy to this outdoor space. The ground floor house opens to the landscaped garden along the east side with the ‘Tulasi brindavan’ as the focal point. The large living room spills out into the garden with a deck in the middle as a buffer space. This deck acts as an extended seating and also as a space for several day-to-day activities. All the common spaces of the house like entrance foyer, living, dining, puja and the kitchen, are lined up parallel to this linear expanse of the garden, hence connecting them all at all times with the lush landscape while bringing in the pleasant eastern light. The bedrooms open towards the decks and gardens along the sides. Like the garden in the ground floor, the first floor house is planned around a covered landscaped courtyard. This house is designed in a manner where the the common spaces connect to an internal courtyard on the western side and open out towards large balconies on the eastern side that overlook the garden below. The garden visually connects both the houses and their respective interior spaces. This structure is built in a sustainable and eco friendly manner. We employed various alternative construction techniques and materials to reduce the carbon footprint. It is built using un-burnt earth blocks and hollow terracotta blocks that are predominantly left exposed. This structure has interesting roofing variations both indoors as well as along the external elevation. We were keen on reducing the concrete usage in the roofs and hence used filler slab technique with hollow terracotta blocks. These hollow blocks act as excellent thermal insulators reducing the heat transferred from the roofs. The living room along the ground floor is designed to be a flexible space to host various types of gatherings. This space is inspired by both nature and music. The soft curve of the vault roof makes this large space very cozy. This space is very earthy with its exposed mud and terracotta walls and ceiling. The yellow oxide wall is the highlight of this space that is designed as a continuation of the yellow Jaisalmer floor seamlessly merging. The yellow oxide wall has imprints of leaves from the surrounding plants and is highlighted with earthy colours minimally. This artwork on the oxide wall is made as a continuation of the external landscape. Terracotta is another material that brings about the inherent earthiness of this design. It is used in the form of bricks in the jack-arches. Then as clay tiles along the sloping roofs and as hollow terracotta blocks along the walls and roofs - filler slabs and vault roof. Terracotta jaalis have been used as screens in the courtyard and along the stairwell which helps bring in light, ventilation and privacy while creating an interesting play of light and shadows through the day. ARCHITECTURAL AND INTERIOR DESIGN - Design Kacheri DESIGN TEAM - Nidhish Kurup, Chaitra Saraf, Alex Paul, Arhata Jain, Mouleeshwaran CONTRACTOR - Deepak and Ezhumalai STRUCTURAL CONSULTANTS - Sigma consultants PHOTOS - Arjun Krishna photography STYLING - Drisha Jain VIDEO - Ramasya films EDITING - Rohan Ullatil MUSIC - Pawan Krishna and Walt Adams

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