Images sourced from Anupama Kundoo

Wall House in Auroville is an experimental house designed by sustainability champion Anupama Kundoo. The architecture employs a play in proportions to create comfortable yet dramatic spatial envelopes. The house is built entirely with locally sourced materials in new, innovative ways to create soothing, earthy spaces that respond to the warm, humid climate.

Wall House is predominantly constructed with the vernacular ‘Achukkal’ brick, once ubiquitous to the building landscape in Tamil Nadu. Known for their unique flat, thin profiles and their distinctive red colour, Achukkal bricks are typically made out of left-over silt that is collected from farmlands around. They are then shaped by hand and fired in clay ovens for strength and stability. The bricks are deemed to be extremely sustainable, given their long life, low cost of production, and the sparing amounts of energy use for manufacturing.

The earthy palette and warm finishes move beyond the brick walls and are found throughout the house. The august clay pot vault above the double-height living space and the innovative filler slab roof above the dining area are particularly worthy of mention.

Each facade of Wall House sports unique fenestrations that bring in fresh air and ample daylight. On one side, a series of louvered windows built out of local mango wood and completed with unpolished granite stone come into sight. On the other side, a series of pivoting ferrocement screens open the house to the verdant landscape around when open, and bring beautiful light and shadow patterns indoors when closed.

It is such a joy to see our project House with Three Pavilions find beautiful space in print and on the cover of Livingetc Magazine’s June 2022 issue. Aptly titled - ‘A Home with A Verandah’, the article draws attention to our countryside Goan house’s tangible connection to nature. It throws light on our tropical modern design approach and celebrates our efforts to create seamless indoor-outdoor spaces that allow our clients to take everyday life outdoors.

Read the published story here.

If you are considering buying a house in Goa, read our blogpost: What to Look For While Buying A House in Goa

To know more about our design process, take a look at: Designing A House in Goa

Now that you've got this house in Goa, imagine all the things you can do with it to make it your sanctuary. The most wonderful thing about having a house in Goa is being able to enjoy the natural immersion and the seasonal indulgence that comes with it. To us, design is a direct way to enhance comfort, improve quality of living, and create richness in experience within every space.

Design can be simple but generous and luxurious when the right materials and strategies are used. Here are 5 effective ways to create rustic spaces that are designed for barefoot and earthy luxury.

01 Create spacious bathrooms finished with rustic materials that feel great against bare feet.

Find bathrooms designed as sanctuary spaces here.

02 Use a colour palette of subtle shades & tones in neutral monochromatic colours.

Read more about building a neutral palette here.

03 Take advantage of the unique colours, patterns and textures of natural materials.

Learn about using and maintaining wood, lime, and IPS here.

04 Design landscape to mimic a wild landscape as opposed to manicured landscape.

Learn more about natural landscaping and local species here.

05 Practice a bit of wabi sabi where you appreciate and live with site's imperfections and the aging of materials.

Read our blogpost on living with nature.

In this IG Live, we speak to Dr. Ajit Gokhale, the founder of Natural Solutions, India to discuss ‘Building Reed-bed system for Wastewater Management’.
Over our conversation, we get into details about the components of a Reed bed system, how the water purification is carried out, and the right methods of implementation. We also debunk common misconceptions about reed beds such as odor and maintenance requirements. Finally, we speak about the different types of flowering and fruiting plants that can be used for reed bed systems in Goa and along the Western Ghats.

Natural Solutions aims to spread environmental literacy and offers sustainable solutions for Urban as well as Rural Problems of water scarcity, Solid Waste Management, and wastewater treatment. Here are some key takeaways from our conversation.

Debunked myths about reed-bed systems

• A reed bed system does not smell if designed correctly. The simple precaution of introducing the inlet pipe at the bottom of the reed bed and not the top of the ensures that no foul smell is emanated.

• A reed bed does not have to be designed in a segregated area. It can very much designed as part of the landscape to be a walkable, usable space that can be accessed regularly.

• A reed bed can be used to effectively purify not just greywater but also black water and industrial wastewater when implemented correctly. It does not require significant additional maintenance.

Maintaining a reed-bed system

• A reed bed system typically consists of two parts - a sedimentation system (a septic tank/ an anaerobic digester/ Jalrakshak) and a filtration system (the reed bed itself). The entire system requires very little external care or maintenance.

• As with any common drainage or waste treatment system, the septic tank/ anaerobic digester/ Jalrakshak has to be cleaned occasionally.

• The reed bed itself does not require any maintenance. The plants can be trimmed for aesthetic value but it is not necessary. Trimming does not hamper the reed bed system as long as it is done as per a pruning schedule. Care has to be taken that the base of the plants are intact.

Benefits of a reed-bed system

• A reed bed system is a one-time investment with lifelong benefits. It is extremely low maintenance in the long run.

• Depending on the microclimate, the reed bed can purify every 1L of impure water to create 0.7 to 0.9L of filtered water that can be reused.

• The filtered water can be reused for irrigation & gardening, washing cars, and for flushing.

• The reed bed can be integrated as an accessible part of the landscape of the house with flowering and fruiting plants and trees that become home to local biodiversity.

Reed beds are sustainable, scalable, cost-effective ecologically engineered systems that can effectively purify wastewater. They are easy to maintain and can be designed into the landscape irrespective of the project size or typology.

Sustainable building is not as complicated as it sounds. Here are 5 simple practices to adopt while building which offer lifelong benefits and returns:

01. Harvest rainwater for reuse or to restore groundwater. Even a system as simple as a collecting tank makes a difference.

We have a conversation covering the basics of rainwater harvesting. Watch it here.

02 Source and use materials and natural stones that are local to the place.

Read about optimal use of local materials in this article.

03 Preserve existing trees and use native species. Use flowering & fruiting trees & plants to retain the habitat and welcome biodiversity.

Find out more about natural landscaping here.

04 Maximise daylight and cross ventilation by creating openings on at least two sides of a space.

Find out how to connect to the outdoors in this blogpost.

05 Create pathways and hardscape with permeable paving to allow rainwater to reach the ground and replenish the water table.

Learn more about designing outdoor paving here.

We love creating spaces with an intention to reconnect with nature - spaces that allow ample daylight and maximise natural ventilation, that seamlessly transition from indoor to outdoor and facilitate outdoor living. All of these aspirations can be easily realised using 5 key strategies to connect the inside with the outside.

01. Build around site's existing features, elevations, topography and consider restoring habitats.

Try to retain the site in its natural state as much as possible by limiting building footprint and preserving the existing ecological patterns. Before building, take time to observe natural patterns such as sun and shade, rain and drain, dry and lush areas, etc.

Visit the link to learn more about taking a site positive approach.

02. Design for extensive verandahs and incorporate verandahs as transition spaces to take everyday activities outdoors

Design indoor spaces that are flanked by generous outdoor spaces in the form of verandahs and courtyards. You can read our blogpost about the benefits of incorporating verandahs here.

03. Create large openings that seamlessly connect the indoors with the outdoors

Introduce large openings in between these indoor and outdoor spaces which can be opened up to connect the two spaces to allow them to function as one space.

04. Frame views

The openings should be designed to frame views and focus on key natural elements on the site, such as an existing tree, water feature, rocky outcrop, and/ or the views offered by the site.

Find out more about framing views here.

05 Continue the same material from indoor to outdoor and play with finish and texture to create variance

We like to use the same material in the indoor and outdoor space, once again connecting them visually and making them appear as one continuous space. The finish can be slightly altered from space to space ranging from mirror polished to rough cut as seen in the photograph below.

Find our answers to frequently asked questions about using natural stone here.