Room for rain in Thrissur

i2a Architects Studio’s Thrissur farmhouse builds a monsoon memory with a pond that lives within it

21 May 2025

This is the kind of home where dragonflies hover low and jackfruits ripen on the sill. In Kodungallur, a quiet town of Thrissur, the Malabar breeze carries the smell of fresh paddy and monsoon. Tucked between this setting is a 2,300 sq ft farmhouse designed by i2a Architects Studio surrounded by coconut groves and the backwaters. From a distance it echoes the concept of ancestral nalukettu: sloping clay-tiled roofs, shaded verandahs and water bodies glinting between greenery. With an old and new silhouette comes alive oxide floors, exposed concrete beams and timber rafters aligned with the structure’s linear geometry.

The Elanji (Spanish cherry) trees quietly whisper near the bedroom wing, a laterite-lined pond gathers rain and reflects the swaying palms. A wooden deck connects the main wing of the house to the private one. Inside, rooms flow into each other with neat white walls and warm timber – where the spirit of monsoon meets tones of contemporary living.

A sleek kitchen that opens to a balcony with a view, where one can catch a glimpse of the paddy fields and the distant of palm trees; Photography by Vishnu V Nath

Thrissur ebbs and flows

The home adopts, adapts and distills the architectural memory of Kerala into something more current. Wide eaves that keep out the rain, a tested response to Thrissur’s monsoon and summers, keeping the interiors dry and cool.

Deep verandahs wrap the built form, like in a nalukettu, not only blurring boundaries between indoors and out, but also working as a passive thermal buffer: shaded, breezy and alive with filtered light. The laterite-lined pond collects rainwater and cools the air that drifts into the house.

The home’s volumes are broken into two connected wings, another traditional strategy, which helps to negotiate with the uneven terrain and ensure cross-ventilation. Timber rafters, left exposed under the deep eaves, evoke an old-world warmth spanning an open-plan room. Inside, oxide flooring, once common in Kerala homes for its cooling properties, grounds the interiors. It flows into white walls and expansive glazing, to bring more light in, hold the supple warmth, the house holds sunlight like rice in a steel contained — portioned, warm and familiar.

The living room is a laid back yet warm space with minimalist furnishings from Yellow Petals, soft white seating around a small central table, with tropical plants outside offering a refreshing touch as balmy sunlight filters through large windows; Photography by Vishnu V Nath

The path around the house is flanked by trees, leading you through a resort-like retreat; Photography by Vishnu V Nath

Elangi at the window, cats on the deck

From the wind paths to rain patterns, architecture and design nuances of i2a Architects Studio nurture life at the farmhouse. The large pond, the smaller water bodies act as collectors of monsoon runoff, a cooling sink for the land and a watering hole for birds, bees and the occasional egret. Around the pond, a quiet ecosystem takes root, native species like bamboo, mango and Elangi aren’t planted for mere beautification, they give shade and host a web of insects and pollinators that keep the garden alive.

Smaller water bodies also create moist pockets that regulate microclimate throughout the day. Nature comes to visit the house, like the Elangi tree knocking on its bedroom pane, in its design the home is built for life, all kinds of it. What began as a weekend escape is now a home, lived in fully, with dogs that claim the deck before breakfast and cats that sneak between rooms.