Excerpt: Athulyam House by Outlined Architects is a modern, budget-conscious urban residence designed with a minimalist approach. Responding to its dense surroundings, the house adopts an inward-looking layout that maximizes light, privacy, and thermal comfort through passive design strategies. It balances contemporary aesthetics with functional spatial planning, creating a harmonious living environment tailored to both rental and private use.
Project Description
[Text as submitted by architect] Tucked within the bustling city centre of coimbatore, “ATHULYAM – அதுல்யம்” finds its place in a coveted locale. Encircled by the vibrant presence of nearby urban abodes, it is sought to resonate with contemporary aesthetics, a space where clean lines and minimalist elegance converge seamlessly. However, this aspiration for a contemporary haven was to be realized within the confines of a constrained budget. The challenge lay in curating an ambiance that breathes modernity while keeping a keen eye on the space requirements by the client. The brief was to accommodate a 2BHK villa on the ground floor for rental purposes and a 3BHK duplex for the client’s family.
Athulyam is meticulously crafted as an inward-looking dwelling, a response to the densely populated surroundings. The design focuses on maximizing natural light and creating a harmonious interior environment. This is achieved through a carefully articulated east-facing façade with perforated square forms that balance privacy and light penetration.
The spatial organization of the house prioritizes functionality and comfort. The common areas, such as the living room, dining area, and kitchen, are positioned at the front to foster family interactions and gatherings. Private areas, including bedrooms and personal spaces, are deliberately placed towards the rear of the house, ensuring tranquility and privacy.
The façade is designed to be performative, incorporating operable louvers and a terracotta jaali screen. These elements work in tandem to mitigate solar heat gain, facilitate cross-ventilation, and cool the warm air, ensuring thermal comfort within the interiors.
The expansive living room seamlessly accommodates the puja room, an internal staircase, a dining area, and a modern kitchen, all within the inviting space. The puja area embraces a simple and minimalistic approach, achieved by utilizing two standalone granite slabs enriched with subtle grooves. Following an open concept, the kitchen and dining is strategically placed with storage spaces that also acts as partition between the living and kitchen. An elegant horizontal ribbon window lights up this olive themed space maintaining connection to the street.
The design incorporates stack ventilation as an integral passive cooling strategy to enhance indoor thermal comfort. This system is strategically implemented above the staircase through a skylight, which acts as an outlet for warm air. By facilitating the natural rise and escape of hot air, the configuration promotes effective airflow and maintains a comfortable environment across the duplex floors without mechanical intervention.
Each bedroom in the house has been designed with a unique color palette to reflect the personality and preferences of its occupants. The parents’ bedroom features a warm yellow theme and son’s bedroom is adorned with a vibrant blue theme symbolizing a harmonious blend of calmness and boldness, fostering an environment of serenity and strength.
The accomplished spatial configuration expertly blends communal living with individual privacy, crafting a harmonious and functional living environment for the residents. Each aspect of the design was carefully crafted to ensure that the layout catered precisely to the client’s distinct needs and visions, all within the framework of contemporary design language with the essence of minimalism.
Drawings
Images
