villa kinara

Client brief was to provide for plenty of semi-covered outdoor seating, by using natural and recycled materials for its interiors as well as exteriors and to achieve a feeling of sitting on the deck of a ship, the river view being the unique selling point of the site Site planning and layout • The site is with the road on one side and river to the other. Beyond the road the land slopes uphill. • There was an existing house on the site in a dilapidated state. Amendments were done to the existing plinth to be able to accommodate a mezzanine level • Staff room, utility area and car park are placed towards the road for better accessibility. • The living, dining, bedrooms and all seating areas are placed toward the river to appreciate the view and its eastward orientation. • These rooms open outwards along at least one of its length and breadth hence spilling either onto natural ground or onto a floating wooden deck. • As there was a need of two additional bedrooms, two floating temporary wooden rooms are designed to attach to the existing plinth of the house which float above ground leaving the natural ground undisturbed and allowing it to breathe. • The central core is designed to hold the lift well and the staircase which has ventilators above to help release hot air and light up the center of the house at mezzanine level . This would otherwise be a dark place. • All coconut trees on the site were retained and landscaping was designed around them. • Special care is taken not to disturb the natural ground in the complete site. • The outdoor wooden deck is designed with spacing between the planks and is lifted up on a removable framework to make way for rain water to pass through and recharge the natural ground below thus making it an environmentally conscious design. An average size lap pool made of Fiberglass, lifted up from the ground also follows the same principal. Experience • The view of the river reveals itself gradually and unexpectedly. This is achieved by taking the entrance to the side of the house, leading along a path, through a narrow entry foyer which then dramatically opens out to the river side. • Straight openings with full length glass shutters sitting in deep recesses opening out to semi covered spaces with roof overhangs or pergolas make it possible to leave the house open throughout the day. These transition spaces not only bring in ample natural light and ventilation but also help merge the interior spaces with the exteriors boundaries. • All peripheral rooms of the house are allowed to be taken over by plants, to shade them and to diffuse the inside-outside boundaries. Materials and detailing • Use of natural wood and laterite stone Walls help in keeping the house very breathable. • Wooden beams from old houses were sourced and planked to be used for all doors, windows and outdoor wooden decking, hence reducing the use of virgin material. • Locally procured natural stone is used as wall cladding in covered areas to reduce the maintenance cost. • A modern concrete adaptation of the traditional country tile molding at roof overhang is designed at the end of the gutter to act as drip mold preventing water to slide down horizontally at the soffit. • A detail of gutter is introduced a little before roof ends to collect all the rain water from the roof and take it down for recharging ground water table. • Mezzanine gallery is designed to act as a gutter too by finishing it with wooden planks with gaps. This water is eventually taken down for ground recharge too. In all, it is a humble house with very little emphasis on its own elevation. Design focuses on providing maximum indoor outdoor connectivity taking maximum advantage of the natural light and its eastwards and river facing orientation and minimum use of extra resources making this house design a very sustainable one.