When Surat goes south

All paths lead to the courtyard 

Every space in the home leads back to the carved-out courtyard that becomes the visual anchor, just like the home’s name implies. “The planning of the house while being concentric majorly revolves around the central 9×9 metre sunken courtyard that acts as both a spatial anchor and a climatic device,” say Jhanvi and Rakshit. The courtyard intersperses the private spaces into the tranquil outdoors. Upon entrance to the home, a spacious foyer leads into the primary living space and then into the courtyard. Around it, is the family block containing the secondary living space, dining, kitchen and powder room. 

The other side of the home extends into the party lawn and family sit-out, while three bedrooms, each with baths and dressing areas are in the private wing of the home. This sets the window frame for the organic farm patch below. This synthesis of the indoor and outdoor, through the openness of the home, cools the interiors with the occasional breeze, in Surat’s humidity. 

Surat goes south 

The home embodies inspiration from early Chettinad style tropical houses. Hand-applied sand-textured walls are companions to the site’s soil tone. Rough-cut Kota stone mosaic flooring guides visitors across the home, intermingling from the outdoor tranquility to the embrace of a sanctuary inside. Warmth of natural wood exudes from the furniture and detailing in the doors, which makes a silent conversation with its traditional context. “The findings of understated contemporary language to striking traditional building materials lends purpose and character to the minimalist spaces and helps render a quaint aesthetic of erstwhile tropical houses,” say Jhanvi and Rakshit. 

The home is complete with furnishings of vintage artefacts, large earthen pots and handpicked furniture. A contemporary intervention of custom cement tiles on the Chettinad style single sloping roof ties the home together, giving it character while maintaining the appeal of a tropical house. 

Sky is the limit 

The home interacts with the sky, making a clear-cut geometric division of the space below and above, that co-exist side by side. The sloping roof in the silent courtyard frames the skyline, like a picture that changes across time. The vast expansive nature evokes you to reflect outwardly, yet makes you feel right at home. Natural light enters the home through this opening, touching and illuminating the deep walls, flitting shadows that move across the space prompting changes in the tones and temperature. Seeking inspiration from the traditional, the home provides a serene sanctuary under a dynamic sky.

Read More: D’WELL flips a 40-year-old home in Surat inside-out to craft a workspace amidst nature’s lap