Seetharaman House
2016
The Seetharaman house is a refuge from the unforgiving heat and dismal tones of Chennai city by honouring the client's requirements at every turn. The central objective when designing the house is to create a spacious, bright, pleasant, and easy-to-maintain traditional Kerala style house using natural materials. The house is in the shape of the Tamil alphabet “Pa”, and all the living spaces overlook the green courtyard. Due to proximity to the seaside and to mitigate heat, the sloping roof is built of timber and Mangalore tiles with large overhangs shading the walls
The timber "Charupadi" in the entrance verandah (inclined step) provides a beautiful resting spot. Devoid of separate balconies, the house and the adjoining gardens extend into each other. Understanding that the time spent in a vast front garden would be the bare minimum, a back garden with a roofed sit-out that can be spillover party space is designed. The house is made of beautiful hardwood and vibrantly coloured Athangudi tile floors, with unpolished granite paving the car park and natural laterite stones occupying the garden area. The traditional atmosphere is magnified by restored antique furnishings and recovered wooden pillars used in the interiors. Other highlights include strategically placed skylights that provide natural light into the home, and split floor levels that add variety to the interior rooms.