Built in Gudiyatham, a town in Vellore district of Tamil Nadu, this house is located centrally at a distance of 200 km between Bangalore and Chennai. The planning strategy of the house involves an arrangement of the primary spaces along the east-west axis. The west end of the axis houses the entry court from the Bazaar street side while passing through the central court in the private realm before terminating at a court on the east posterior end which faces the conservancy lane. The house stands out in comparison to the modern houses built in the neighborhood by opening up to the outside.
Philanthropic philosophy
The region endures a hot and dry climate with seasonal monsoon showers. Situated in a busy and dense neighborhood, the 440 sq m site is one of the many linear plots sandwiched between similar plots on the longer sides, while the shorter sides face the Bazaar street to the front and a narrow conservancy lane to the rear. The client is a third generation resident of the locality with local and international business interests in Saudi Arabia. The family adheres to the Islamic traditional lifestyle and maintains a strong sense of community by engaging in philanthropic activities.
Reflecting inwards
While the common practice was to make the house look inwards while also restricting the interaction with the street to a minimum. This decision comes from the love of client for his neighborhood and his philanthropic ways, and we as architects couldn’t imagine it being any different from his vision.
Monumental values
Owing to the demands placed by the family’s Islamic lifestyle and the client’s personality, the house is divided into two parts. This division is clearly visible with the change in the use of materials. The one-third anterior, which acts as a public domain where the client engages with the members of the neighborhood (which he fondly refers to as his ‘Basthi’), is an expression of exposed concrete holding a symbolic value of family strength and permanence of their values. It’s rustic and robust in its monolithic appearance of a form folding concrete slab bending and turning to the desired profile.
The two-third posterior becomes the private realm for the family which is an introverted mass achieved by thick exposed brick walls, functionally aiding to achieve thermal comfort. In contrast to the exterior, the interior displays a softer side with white walls, beige marble and warm wood.
Fact file:
Name of the project: Shareef House
Location: Gudiyatham, Tamil Nadu
Area: 440 sq m
Type: Residential architecture
Design firm: DS2 Architecture
Lead designer: Ar. Mueen Haris
Text: Ar. Kritika Juneja
