Tucked between a lush hillside on one side and swaying palms on the other lies a home where the rhythm of the tropics dances with the linearity of design. This is a dwelling of glass and granite, deeply rooted in its surroundings yet incredibly modern, both in form and function.
This creature of stone and glass has a presence like a Brutalist structure that has been softened with the refinement of contemporary minimalism; it’s a straight-lined monolith but it treads ever so lightly and surreptitiously on the ground. Perhaps because a majority of its insides is air. The 150 x 30 ft home is a series of rooms stacked in front of each other in a line, with large, imposing floor-to-ceiling glass windows acting as sliding walls on opposite sides. Surrounded by wide verandas and shielded with a light as paper Zinc roof, it is a house that not only responds to its environment but also engages in a meaningful dialogue with it, embodying the very essence of tropical living.
In addition to the site that only allowed for a linear plot (to keep all the palm trees intact), the glass walls were a key protagonist in the home’s design drama. 20mm thick, self- cleaning, and going up to a height of over 4.2 meters in some areas, the linearity of the home was in response to the motion of these windows.
Architecturally, the house adopts a unique approach, Sangeeta and Sanjeev liken this build to a "double-headed snake" with the two ends of the structure rising taller than the middle rooms. The elevation isn't a mere stylistic choice but serves another purpose too, like everything else in this home. The far ends are the living rooms designed as viewing, vantage points looking out to the world - with its three retractable glass walls and elevation - while the middle rooms are the more nestled, private zones.
Everything in the design is deliberate, conscious, and lucid. To go from one place to another, you must traverse an open 12-foot veranda. Thus the house is aptly named Parikrama, meaning a pilgrimage or circumambulation in Sanskrit. This concept of Parikrama extends beyond mere physical movement; it transcends into a sensorial experience, where each room opens up into a generous veranda, inviting you to immerse yourself in the tropical ambiance. The verandas are this home’s lifelines; they with their deep overhangs and seamless transitions, become an integral part of everyday life, blurring the boundaries between indoor and outdoor living.
Perhaps the boldest move for SPASM has been their commitment to using a singular material in this project -- granite. Here granite is omnipresent, on the floor, the walls, and in the passages. It’s a material used deliberately with abandon to create an almost monastery-like space. Through using the ancient tilt-up stone technique, pre-cut grey granite slabs were raised up with a winch, creating walls that are both sturdy and austere. The choice of this stone isn't arbitrary but deeply rooted in the regional context of construction. In a high precipitation zone, the architecture needed a material that could withstand the challenges posed by the region's climate.
This includes a roof that shields the home from the sun and the rain, but it’s this standing seam Zinc roof that gives the structure its most contemporary expression. It’s finesse is that of a blade, like the wing of an aircraft, but the truss has just enough girth to hide all functional elements inside. The deliberate lightness of the structure oversets the heavy granite walls at the bottom, its uninterrupted and generous cantilever extends in all directions over the verandas, embracing and enveloping all life below in its shadow.
In addition to its architectural prowess, the Parikrama house also embraces sustainability with quiet elegance. Salvaged wood sourced from old buildings, finds new life in custom- designed furniture and fittings, while the stone, sourced locally, undergoes minimal processing, retaining its natural beauty and durability. With a focus on simplicity and efficiency, the house seamlessly integrates with its ecosystem, embracing the principles of eco-conscious living.
Living in this home is an experience, especially during the night. The dark granite absorbs light, making the walls of the house virtually disappear, leaving only the vibrant moonlight dancing off of the surrounding vegetation. The house is a testament to thoughtful and innovative architectural design and seamlessly integrates the traditional and the modern, the heavy and the light, creating a dwelling that is both functional and poetic.
