Location                : Calicut

Category               : Community housing

Completed year   : 2015

 

A long and winding road takes us to this commune of 34 families by the Mampuzha River on a hillock. A combination of villas and villaments make this community. The site profile allowed the design to evolve with options of split levels for the villas without much disturbance and single level for the villaments. The terrain being steep helped in organizing the parking for the villaments, supporting a vehicular free upper court level. The C- shaped villament encloses a central green court -a space where the transitional corridors look into, covered by a tensile roof structure. The sweeping perspectives of the coconut groves and the river are breath-taking from every unit. The lighting in common areas are lit by solar panels and the treated water from STP is used for irrigation.

Composite masonry helps in warding off the harsh western heat, wherein the court allows the breeze to ventilate and cool the units as it blows. The materials used are hollow blocks and bricks which further support in bringing down the micro temperature. The green creepers on the trellis assist in naturally cooler, healthier and cleaner air, other than its aesthetic appeal. The idioms of nature are also seen as motifs in the masonry.