a delicate relationship between nature, humans, and built form unravels in rural indian home

House of Tranquil Rooms by Craft Narrative

Craft Narrative design group builds ‘The House of Tranquil Rooms’ in the rural village of Yavat in Maharashtra, India, for an agricultural family of two brothers. The architecture film by Sohaib Ilyas is a portrayal of the calm and serene village surroundings, coupled with the house‘s simplicity, and further emphasizes the idea of living in harmony with nature and tradition.

‘Architecture is about inclusivity, just as much about the environment, design, and the inhabitant’s context. It is about making boundaries but also blurring them where need be’, shares the videographer. The traditional courtyard house builds upon the beauty of natural, emotional, and physical boundaries, but its essence is borrowed from the yard and its tree. The whitewashed exteriors reflect the simplicity of the client’s needs; a house that happily accommodates the family members, and the mango tree while taking care of the utility as well as functionality. ‘There is a tree and my relationship with it is that the same wave of breeze goes past the both of us’, comments Shanta Shelke, the homeowner.

video and images courtesy of Sohaib Ilyas

the natural element, the people, and the building are equal

It is hard to define the precedence between the families, the tree, or the house, as everyone holds a crucial part of each other’s existence. The house overlooks the old mango tree, and the form spatially defines and blurs lines between people and nature. The courtyard corridor paved with natural stone is often visited by sparrows, while the built architecture blends with its surrounding environment generating a sense of inclusion and respect for nature that can be felt evidently.

Although the family stays together under the same roof, spaces are designed with sensible appropriations to facilitate just the right quota of common activities. Each member has a designated place of their own, while most of the spaces are carved out near the windows for reading, practicing yoga, or overlooking the farms. From the entrance of the house to the big gachchi tree, the structure expands several open zones.

The most favored spot in the house stands near the old mango tree, which binds the volume to the roots while providing shade, a sense of identity to the structure and users, and a whole basket of kairis. ‘Be it the unfolding of the morning newspaper in the courtyard corridor or bringing the calves in for a tour, the tree, and the Holy Tulsi Vrindavan shower their blessing. After all, they rustle with and breathe on the same breeze that gives respite to the family members’, notices Sohaib Ilyas.

‘Very much like human tendencies, the house sequentially unfolds itself, from single-height spaces for each family’s use to double-height spaces for accommodating the two families together as they have their meals in the dining room or discuss their day in the living room’. The verandah terrace welcomes both fellow villagers and animals living in the area, such as calves, with the same warmth. The east-facing windows double up as rooms to provide refuge to the inhabitants connecting them on an intimate scale. Since the family follows the tradition of storing grains and spare utensils, a store room is arranged, alongside the utility area.

The color palette matches the site’s context with white hues advocating the color men traditionally wear and every other color in the house to celebrate the sarees of the household women. The human experiences serve as the decor of the house rather than inanimate objects. Each aperture allows abundant views of lush green farms, evoking the tranquillity and rootedness of uncomplicated village life. The house is built to protect, nourish, and pay homage to the village’s traditional ways of living, enhanced with small yet significant architectural interventions.

project info:

name: House of Tranquil Rooms
designer: Craft Narrative | @craft.narrative

location: Yavat, Maharashtra, India

video: Sohaib Ilyas

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom