Touring a 600 square foot Prefab Home with a BIG View! #hometour

The project aims in creating an economically modest built form for an agriculturist and his family. Abstraction of urban farming could be seen in both exterior and interior spaces. The design uses the natural light and the built form to its advantage. The site abuts access way on the south and other two sides by adjoining structures. Its location is peculiar as the site is located in the city fringes. The surrounding dwelling unit comprises of peculiar semi urban row houses. South facade has the main entry and is flanked by a series of balconies and stepped terrace on each floor. Activities are distributed on various levels- semi private spaces on ground floor while private spaces on upper floors. The heart of the structure is the double heighted courtyard which is embellished with creepers and climbers. The green curtain cuts the direct entry of west sunlight inside the house and creates a buffer. The view from the spaces offers a glance of voluminous courtyard. The shape of the temple is evolved from the form of Shikhara – a feature of Hindu temple architecture. Temple with triple height factor acts as a wind tunnel with mechanical exhaust fan. Circular windows in bedroom, out looking the landscape serves as a natural picture frame. The basic building materials are kept to its natural form and texture to comprehend the naturality of flora.

The trapezoidal tracing of the property is what defined the construction of this house into three clearly settled volumes. Vegetation also plays a protagonist role in the design of this house, both outdoors and indoors. The exterior trees enclose the house generating distinct tons of shades and colours during the different seasons of the year. Within the interior, the unruly green vegetation, contrasts with the stone floors and solid walls, reaching a perfect sense of balance. The entrance, a double height lobby that creates contrasting sensations and distinct visual ending points originated by water mirrors, light shafts, a tree and a staircase. The walls that shape this area, divide the spaces into private and public areas. The ground floor, is organized into two blocks each with a different purpose: The left side, is a white solid cube that integrates the study and the master bedroom and is separated from the other block by a water mirror and a yard that generates the desired privacy, peace and tranquility. The right side, the social area, is a rectangle closed to the west by a rigid wall and opened towards the interior of the house through large floor to ceiling glass walls, giving sober transparency to the yard with views to the garden and the central courtyard. The different angles within the construction achieve visual ending points with great character, as well as, enhancing the sensations provoked by the pure whites that evolve into mixed tones as the day and the seasons go by.