South India is seeing several instances of emerging architectural firms investigating indigenous structures and materials and translating them for today’s context. In addition to customised oxide flooring, clients are opening up to innovative use of brick, tile and mud construction as young minds build harmoniously for the neighbourhood. One such example is Bengaluru-based A Threshold’s Subterranean Ruins in Kaggalipura village.

It resulted from the architects researching ancient architecture to understand how Indian civilisations envisaged buildings as a part of the landscape. Additive forms grew out naturally from the landscape (Hampi and the Tiruchi Rock Temple). Stepwells are submerged. Subtractive styles are carved out from rocks as in Ajanta-Ellora caves. Learning from our rich past, a place, its stories, its people and traditions are all integrated by this generation of architects.

A Threshold, Bengaluru

Avinash Ankalge | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

For Avinash Ankalge, 37, and Harshith Nayak, 31, Subterranean Ruins started out as a retreat for their client, a farmhouse. But it soon became a space that was inclusive to the community. Happily, for the duo, the design that is naturally adapted to people and place won the AR Emerging awards 2024 in mid-November.

Courtyard at The Den of Subterranean Ruins | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Harshith Nayak | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Most times, Ankalge and Nayak have to negotiate urban limitations, such as a serviced apartment (8000 sq.ft. built-up area) they designed for a dense JP Nagar neighbourhood. Terra Comb is a stark contrast to nearby all-glass multistorey complexes. The customised terracotta screen acts as a green curtain against the southern sun as well as ensures privacy from the nearby building, just four feet away. Two tile types sourced from Malur in Kolar district, were combined by cutting them in shapes to make a pattern. Moving away from a typical layout, the architects made a shifting staircase, which also allows for in-between green spaces within the building.

Terra Comb - close-up of structure. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Vy Architecture Studio, Chengalpattu

Bedroom with slit window of Vaazh House | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Venkatesh K, 28, had always been a rebel, financing his own way through architecture school. In 2021, he began Vy Architecture in his hometown Chengalpattu with the idea of becoming a social architect. Venkatesh was inspired by how the Brihadeeshwara Temple at Thanjavur and the Taj Mahal continued to be relevant because of their stories. He says, “I wanted my buildings to tell such stories.”

Venkatesh K. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

An early project for an affluent client in a single-street village was a life lesson. On a street full of shanty homes, his luxurious home stood out conspicuously, creating a huge disparity. Venkatesh vowed never to repeat the mistake.

Curved staircase to roof of Vaazh House. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

The kitchen. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Post-COVID, a businessman who had spent time in his father-in-law’s home town at Vedanthangal (25 km from Chengalpattu), became attracted to its quiet interiors, the simple life and warmth of the local people. He commissioned Venkatesh to build a home there. Venkatesh designed an abode that is Zaha Hadid-inspired — a cross section of traditional earthy mud-construction and parametric architecture. The unusual home, a finalist in The Festival of Architecture and Interior Designing (FOAID) India 2024, was built over nine months by a dedicated team trained by Venkatesh, who visited Auroville earlier, to learn the basics of mud architecture. On a 30 ft x 85 ft site, the 1500 sq.ft. narrow Vaazh House follows a monotonic palette, right up to the floors finished in a brown oxide. “I wanted to create a single emotion, from inside to outside,” says Venkatesh, who this time around was true to core principles.

The front view of Vaazh House. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

The thinnai (entrance verandah) is kept simple, similar to other homes on the street. We see the mutram (central courtyard) when the main door opens. The dining space is visible from the road in the spirit of hospitality, wherein any passer-by will feel invited to come and dine. There are no compound walls. Large glass windows bring an unexpected contemporariness. The hall combines with the courtyard to open up the space. The bedroom has just a narrow-slit window, ensuring privacy. The curved staircase is the highlight, with elements made of reinforced mud, combined with a chip-cement jelly mud mixture. The curved interior ceiling is made of CNC-cut plywood as the small budget project could not accommodate customised formwork. Recalling how an elderly villager had congratulated him, Venkatesh acknowledges, “A building has to be socially responsible, economical and connect with society.”

Living room and courtyard with curved ceiling. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Naked Volume, Thrissur

Hridayam | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Kerala architecture is typically close to Nature and 27-year old Arjun Joshy’s studio Naked Volume imbibes this very philosophy — being open, transparent and raw, using materials in an honest way. Arjun’s upcoming residential project is being built with a mango tree at its centre.

Arjun Joshy | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Arjun’s first project after graduating in 2020, was a gift for his father — a 2200 sq.ft. home where he could retire called Hridayam, which means heart. Interested in the tropical home format, he set out to make a peaceful, calm space that connected with the outdoors. One of the inviting characteristics is the seating at the thinnai and curved windows. “We provided seating wherever possible and this created an interaction between family and outside visitors, like bay windows. Instead of a couch, these in-built sit-outs align with our way of sitting and the view is always towards the outside and nature.”

The interior view of Hridayam. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

The facade of Hridayam. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Designed for the Kerala climate that alternates between heat and rain, the house combines sloping and flat roofs. Says Arjun, “The sloping roof is good for the rain to collect in a filter system and then it recharges the underground well.” The customised Athangudi flooring is in muted tones of grey and pale green for the ground floor and blue and grey for the upper floor. The furniture is bespoke, minimalistic, and without ornamentation.

In another project called Janani, meaning to give birth, Arjun had the challenge of creating memories for a client who grew up in a joint family. “All the living areas had to encourage connectivity, while they needed privacy for the bedrooms and bathrooms.” To enhance such interactions, the architect has placed small lookout windows within the interiors, the typical Kerala killivathil. The flooring is a specially prepared polished green-oxide. In the courtyards, natural Bengaluru granite is cool on the feet. The roof has Mangalore tiles on the exterior, and flat terracotta ceiling tiles on the inside, with a gap in-between for insulation.

The interiors of Janani | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

As the site was restricted, Arjun built up the height of the compound wall and created a green garden space. A thoughtfully designed portion is the raised platform at the entrance, which is both a space to take a nap or for children to play. A kasera (Planter’s chair) completes the warm scene.

The bedroom view of Janani. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

The writer is a brand strategist with a background in design from SAIC and NID.