Jharoka House – The Black Sheep Farm

Description - Residential
Status – On Going
Area – 3500 sqft
Scope – Architecture + Interior
Location – Kasargod, Kerala

A testimony of classical Indian architecture, ‘Jharokha’ or projecting windows have been a customary feature of ancient India. Creating it a muse, the Jharokha House is designed for the parents of a NRI couple, a place for them to call home in India. Responding to the old mosque in vicinity, the house emanates as a modern take on local architecture to blend with its surrounding context.

Envisaged on a 4000 sq.ft. rectangular plot, the house is enclosed by structures on three sides and an active street on the front for access. The notion was to devise an abode that feels safe for parents with the spaces weaving into one another. Stringent setback conditions and specification of four bedrooms, necessitated the introduction of a courtyard to render light and a central multifunctional space. The house thus consists of two rectangular volumes with inverse side sloping roof adjoined by a shorter block, to yield a contemporary outlook to a traditional sloping roof house.

The ground floor harbors the living area encased by a bedroom on each end of the prolonged rectangular block. The other volume is divided in two parts by the courtyard, housing the kitchen and dining room on one side and a study area on the other. All the living spaces are arranged around and open into the courtyard. Sliding doors separating the interior spaces from the courtyard, when opened transforms the entire area into one large usable space.

A folded plate linear metal staircase cascades parallel to the elongated living room with an aisle connecting the bedrooms on the first floor. The walkway engenders a double-heighted living area overlooking the courtyard. Full-length windows with a concoction of glass and wooden louvers in the living room blends with the courtyard and enhances the open space.

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