The Linear House / The Company of Design

Text description provided by the architects. The Linear house is tucked away in the high-density town of Mandvi, Gujarat. As the name suggests, the design is driven by the site constraints of a 3m x 30m plot size, open-ended on both sides along the length, with an active street front, and an open courtyard at the back. Adhering to the original live-work housing typology also found in the neighborhood, it was important to not only segregate and provide privacy but also break away from the linearity of the living space and provide ample daylight. This was achieved by adding a floating bridge in the middle, which helped create a central double-height volume, and provided the opportunity to bring in natural daylight through an articulated skylight on the roof. Adding a central staircase helps organize and connect all the spaces around it, while creating a seamless visual connection between them, thus making it an ideal spot for the living space to be situated, transforming it into the social hub of the house.

The house can be categorically split into two levels, public and private. The ground level being ‘public’ includes the jewelry shop in the front, which brings you to the central living space connected to the kitchen, which further leads to the guest bedroom overlooking the back courtyard. All these spaces have been designed to have a constant visual flow as you transition from one space to the next. The upper level is more private consisting of the master bedroom facing the back courtyard, and the kids’ bedroom facing the street, connected by a central social space and a floating bridge.

The building envelope has been designed as a response to the local climate. It aims to maximize daylight in what could have been a dimly lit narrow living space and works to keep the building cool. In order to provide privacy from the busy street and protect the kids’ bedroom from the harsh south-east sunlight, a rotating terracotta brick jali was designed to not only act as a screen but to create a kinetic façade for visual interest along with a tree planted adjacent to it. Both these elements act as shading and cooling agents for the house. On the other hand, the roof skylight has been articulated to maximize the natural light in the space below, while optimizing the position of the solar panels for maximum solar gain – making the Linear house more sustainable and energy efficient.