Brinda and Parth Shah listen to traditional wisdom even as they introduce modern materials and methods into their building practice in Rajkot.
Young people today are rarely tuned towards the past, except perhaps, if they are architects. The more thoughtful architects in India often show that the smart way to the future may be best explored by looking to and learning from the past as well. Brinda and Parth Shah are a case in point. Graduates of the School of Architecture, Ahmedabad, they gained professional experience in the same city, followed by postgraduate studies in Europe. They finally chose to settle down in the small city of Rajkot and built a studio-residence on property owned by Parth’s family in 2005.
This trajectory of returning from the bigger world “out there” to the smaller world “back home” is revealed in their design of the studio-residence featured here, part of which is built on an existing plinth of an outhouse. The design judiciously introduces modern methods and materials into the traditional wisdom about building in places that are hot and dry such as Rajkot. In the process, it also opens up ways of building that makes spaces relatively more sustainable in an ecological sense.
Step by step
Trees and an outhouse standing on the site, as well as the sun’s path, shaped the orientation design of the building. A small court was created around one of the trees, and this acts as a pivot between the studio and the residence. A long, north facing veranda connects the two spaces and opens up to the expansive gardens watered by treated wastewater from the twin-chamber double-action septic tanks. The length of the building is kept along the east-west axis which keeps only a small width of wall exposed to the low- angle, morning and afternoon sun, thereby reducing heat gain. The south wall is made thicker to reduce heat gain during the middle part of the day. This enables comfort without resort to airconditioning.
The technology reveals best how new and old ideas or materials can be integrated. The masonry — built by an experienced local contractor — is in local stone (left exposed) and brick which is plastered and painted in lime. The roof structure re-uses slender wood sections bought from dismantled houses in the region in a new way. A 6 mm thick steel plate is sandwiched between two slender wood sections to make posts that use less of wood or steel than if they were used alone.
Moreover, this allows the use of recycled wood which comes in thin sections. The use of wood in rafters is avoided by using prelaminated boarding on the underside of the roof in a structural role. Laminated on both sides (to prevent damage by rain on the outer surface under the Mangalore tiles), this strengthens the roof structure while also reflecting daylight from the strip of high level windows into the depth of the spaces.
The details of the design are crucial in extending the logic of the overall design. They also introduce a whimsicality that enlivens the experience of the space. There are different struts supporting the roof that shoot up from brackets at different points on the wall. These break up the regularity of the roof grid. Windows bought from old houses are reassembled to provide those for this building. The smallest ones placed low even respond to the scale of an infant who enjoys the instructive pleasures of opening and closing windows at a very early age.
More From This Section
The flooring design shows that a different aesthetic is possible from an unconventional approach to material selection. The Shahs asked the stone supplier to show them all ‘rejects’ of Kota stone slabs. Since most people want unblemished, homogenous coloured lots, the Shahs got stone slabs with different grains, colouration and in different sizes. They then worked out a floor pattern that is elegant and ensures that there is no waste, by fitting in different sized stone slabs in it. Not only did they have a cheaper floor, it also came at no extra environmental cost in terms of quarrying. It is believed that good architecture integrates concerns of function, construction and experience seamlessly in design. The Shahs show that you can also be more sustainable than usual in the process.
| ECONOMICAL, SUSTAINABLE # House oriented along the east-west axis to reduce overall heat gain # The south wall is made thicker to reduce heat gain during the middle part of the day # Walls are in local stone (left exposed) and brick which is plastered and painted in lime # The roof structure re-uses slender wood sections bought from dismantled houses in the region # Prelaminated boards on the underside of the roof # Windows bought from old houses were reassembled for this building # Unconventional flooring with ‘rejects’ of Kota stone slabs # Treated waste water for the garden |
# No air-conditioning