Built hands-on this weekend home located in the serene vicinity of coastal Kuvathur, about eighty kilometres from Chennai, was conceived as a simple experiment with techniques that felt native yet contemporary to the region. The idea was to recreate the memory of the family home set in the countryside, to invoke one’s senses through the tactile nature of the materials and spatial continuity extending into nature.

Set within close proximity to the sea, the project is a contemporary take on the traditional ‘nalukettu’ house form. The clients’ programmatic requirements included four rooms with attached baths with a guaranteed view of the sea. The rooms and other living spaces such as the dining and kitchen are organised around the linear brick-laid court. The lounge on the upper level sets a stage to gaze at the sea and the horizon beyond. The ‘mutram’ or the court with the corridor hugging its perimeter acts as a multifunctional space, to rest, to pause, to look at the sky above.