Athachi Farmhouse / Alchemy Architects

Athachi Farmhouse / Alchemy Architects

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Text description provided by the architects. A nature lover NRI chose to have a close-to-heart Holiday Home. Nestled in the famous Farmland of Kerala, on the flatlands of Palakkad Pass flanked by the Western Ghats on either side, lead to the conceptualization of a Holiday Home that can hold his family together during his vacations back in his homeland. The limited time frame gave birth to the idea of using steel structures for 80% of the built area.

With the client’s love for nature & greenery in the tropical zone, his contributions to the organic farming practices of medicinal plants, and his venture of wellness products, the Home became a vision of his farming principles, giving the home a Minimalist approach with raw, earthy, and muted tones to convey the context.

Design Context – The design approach began with the idea to utilize the expansive views created by the on-site 3-acre natural water body overlooking the Ghats. The functional requirements created two primary zones, a residential zone, and a party gathering zone. The primary idea is to place the rooms where the host and the guests stay to overlook the water body and the Ghats, by providing larger longer windows without blocking the views, keeping the longest span in north-south orientations.

The gathering zone with the Party hall is placed at the end of the sequence, giving an interconnecting Dining, for it to use the centrally formed decks and the amphitheater at the back with the larger volume of openings that suggests infinite visual connection throughout for their congregations. The party hall can hold 100 Pax inside with a 24-seater dining area that has a cast in site dining table spanning 24ft “The Cantilevered Monolith” placed centrally connecting the sprawling decks in and out giving infinite partying areas in the front deck and amphitheater at the back.

The residential unit has 6 suite rooms placed linearly with wide verandahs screened by the pinhole brick protecting it from the southern heat and glare. A 3 bedded studio sits on the second floor for the host with wide overhanging decks overlooking the Ghats on either side. All exercised by the custom-made cast in furniture and few handpicked ones to be in harmony.

 Material Specification – The material used in the project can be defined as raw and basic, minimalism that flaunts bare materials and structural elements with bare minimum or no decorative elements with modern materials and antique elements that are revamped. The pinhole brick in the facade, dressed stone walls, polished unpainted cement walls, and polished concrete floors with handmade cement tiles are supported by muted and earthy tones to go hand in hand with the context. The walls are all alternated by the larger volume of openings to bring in more ventilation and light.