Guest House At Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh.

Client Brief –

To design a guest house for pilgrims and relatives of the donor. The built form should have the capacity to accommodate 6 families, their cars, drivers, and domestic help. Accommodation for a permanent caretaker with family had to be provided. The plush Penthouse had to be designed for the use of the primary donor only.

Our Inference from the client brief –

Balance the aspirations of the present contemporary living with the purpose and religious values of Tirumala.

Area – 3600 sq.ft

Design Scope –

Requirement Purpose –

To create a farmhouse on the lines of a traditional courtyard house, reminiscent of multi-user dwellings in the Godavari belt of Andhra Pradesh, tucked within a mango plantation at Hyderabad.

Scope –

Design and Build. An ethnic farmhouse that can metamorphosise to suit the needs of a traditional residence, a cultural entity, and a space for the celebration of traditional Indian festivities while having the necessary utilities and comforts of modern-day living.

Design Scope and how we went about it –

To create a harmonic balance between the nature/plantation where the built form is set and the design/demands of modern living while blending sustainability and contemporary utility through green building technologies and alternate energy systems while addressing the present and future needs of all stakeholders, with compliance to essentials in Vastu.

What we did –

We worked with the clients and ensured that the entire structure is built from the bricks made out of the earth/soil excavated for the foundation. All the bricks compressed stabilised earth blocks used for this project were entirely cast in site, with med concrete for the joints and med plaster adding to the natural essence, creating a monolith without any compromise on structural capabilities (wet compressive strength/load bearing ability subscribing to and above the NBC standards and earthquake resistant building norms).

We had maximum natural lighting and ventilation owing to the centrally located courtyard and had to create spaces with ambient daylight factor and limited vertical sky components.

Innovations used here –

CSEB blocks – compressed stabilised earth blocks, cast & used in-site. Wet compressive strength is above the standards prescribed by the National building code.

Arched footings – influenced by roman architecture, supports the structure, reducing the requirement of stone masonry for the foundation while adding to the aesthetic appeal of the building making it appear as if floating on arches.

Mud concrete & mud Plaster – It enhanced the natural aesthetics while allowing better integration of the CSEB, reduced joints, improved the effect of (SEB, and created a sort of a monolith due to homogeneity in materials used.

USP –

Accepting and implementing in letter and spirit – “Prakruti Rakshati Rakshitah” – “Nature protects if she is protected”.

The touchstone of this project was Contextually blending the built form in the environment through environmentally sensitive and environmentally responsive architecture, design, and execution.

We tried to achieve inclusive architecture where the human and non-human residents can co-inhabit in a space where the built form merges with the natural environment in color, texture, and through the usage of materials.

We aimed at achieving a harmonic balance between nature and the demands of modern living.

The central theme of this project was to establish and build a structure that was Permanent yet Impermanent. The built form is non-invasive, grown and developed from the soil of the very land it stands on today, while also having the ability to easily merge with the same soil and land upon completion of its life and purpose with minimal polluting residues.

Summary –

Recognizing and reliving in harmony with the abundance that Mother Nature unconditionally offers us.