Ananda, a house in Kerala, India, designed by Thought Parallels Architecture, draws on vernacular architecture to create a contemporary, blissful residence. Commissioned by a USโbased couple seeking a home near their ancestral house, the project reinterprets Keralaโs traditional building language with a modern vocabulary. The design centers on a large coconutโwood roof with deep eaves that shade bright, airy interiors. A palette of red brickwork, Mangalore clay tiles, teak wood, and carved fretwork panels unites under this oversized roof, creating a sustainable, craftโrich aesthetic.
The entrance path through a front garden leads to a doubleโheight living, dining, and kitchen space organized around a concrete spiral staircase, drawing eyes upward to exposed diagonal roof beams. Looking up from the stairway, intricate diagonal coconutโwood roofing produces a dynamic visual effect, a modern response to local vernacular. Coconut wood, traditionally used unceremoniously in Kerala, is employed here as a sustainable, costโeffective alternative to teak. The northern wall of this space is fully glazed, with sliding doors opening to a garden terrace; on the first floor, the glazing frames tree canopies from a balcony and a study that overlooks the living area through a small shuttered window.
Opposite the glazed wall, airโconditioning units are hidden behind carved wooden panels inspired by 16thโcentury Padmanabhapuram Palace carvings. Teak frames windows and doors, while limeโplastered walls and stoneโtiled floors match patio paving, creating continuity between interior and exterior. Two ensuite bedrooms sit on the southern side, the groundโfloor bedroom opening to a garden patio. These rooms are sheltered from southern sun by a screen of narrow timber slats, with sliding windows for natural ventilation. The front elevationโs angular brick walls feature red brickwork with a distinctive corner pattern created by gaps between courses. A basement level, sunk into the siteโs lower southern side, contains a garage and storage. Ananda exemplifies a contemporary, sustainable reinterpretation of Keralaโs vernacular architecture.
Nikhil Mohan, Partner, Thought Parallels Architecture, said: โThe core concept was to design the house in sync with the local architecture prevalent to the region, but with a vocabulary and syntax which speaks of our times, reinventing the old into a contemporary voice.โ
Shabna Nikhil, Partner, Thought Parallels Architecture, said: โAn unstoppably Indian, natural, local, crafty, artsy, sustainable, cerebral, minimal, contemporary response to vernacular.โ
Image Courtesy: Dezeen
