Ode to Intimacy

By Savitha Hira

Photography: Bharath Ramamrutham; Courtesy the architects

In a milieu that is concretizing urban abodes with little regard for the environment, it is heartening to revisit tested tenets of design, with deep regard for one’s relation with the surroundings. 

Ar. Sandeep Khosla’ designed 1100 sq.ft. Bellad House in north Karnataka, set amidst a one-acre wooded property conserves a towering old Gulmohar tree, building around it. Following the principles of Vaastu, the home enjoys the luxury of space spread on a single level, centering around the core or aangan and stepping outwards. The 12 ft deep verandah that generously wraps around the core as the gentle buffer between indoor and outdoor environments is treated as a fluid container that contours itself around the functions of the home creating permeable zones for reading, dining and contemplation, traversing with ease between public and private zones.

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Added to this, the vernacular natural stone, wood and terracotta, the pitched Mangalore-tiled roof and high ceiling, and climate control via vents, thick walls, and bay and dormer windows, angled wall braces for running off rain water… all speak of a vocabulary that is ancient to Indian dwelling.

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There have been umpteen homes in the midst of nature in synch with natural elements in traditional architectural style that embody seamlessness; timelessness and the contemporary idiom as natural leanings of a home.  What then sets apart this nature-ensconced traditionally attired home, laid out on the footprint of the age-old science of natural ventilation and climate control?  

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An interesting twist, so to say, comes in the form of a distinct private-public space that the homemakers needed to accommodate to formally entertain certain political associates in the city. Hence, the fourth leg of the verandah sweeps along the north face giving access to two separate entrances - private and public.  This juxtaposition with the traditional ethos is indeed commendable.

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With enhanced insulation and ventilation that minimizes heat gain and supports natural light, the home is a heavenly getaway with its lazy winding driveway, red laterite wall that preserves privacy, and the verdant landscape that has been especially designed by Balinese landscape designer Dewa Kusuma with its premeditated fishpond and water lilies. 

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