Architects: LIJO RENY architects / Ar. Reny Lijo and Ar. Lijo Jos Location: West Kadungallur, Aluva, Kerala, India Cleint: Dr. Ismail and Family Buit up Area: 4,500 Sqft Status: Nearing Completion Photographs: Courtesy of Lijo Reny architects
“I don’t want my house to be seen from the road”, “I don’t want a typical Malayali NRI house” These two important suggestions from the client, directed the architects to design a house with a sweeping green roof hiding the otherwise visible form of the house from the road. If at all anyone got a glimpse of the house they would keep guessing as to what it was, an approach as such towards residential design is new to this place, where most designers fail (read avoid) to think beyond their visual architectural history, let alone a layman.
The ‘green roof was not just a statement here, but a thoughtfully crafted design strategy. It was meant to keep the building cool and breathing along with the help of several open to sky courtyards trapped internally.This becomes a statement solution to reduce energy consumption, in a ‘state’ that has been borrowing power from the neighboring ‘state’ almost always.
This Residence has broken all so called ‘sacred architectural rules’ that strangulates the field of design in Kerala. The design doesn’t carry forward the ‘visual’ context as the architects felt the need to demonstrate a different design possibility for the Tropical Climate of Kerala along with the urge to discourage the practice of pseudo- traditionalism in design.
