丨印度丨NO Architects（哈里克里希南·萨西达兰和尼努·伊丽莎白）

This 3,500-square-foot bungalow in Kerala’s Karunagappally is an oasis in nature

With blooming pink walls, golden sunlight and nature that steps indoors, this home by NO Architects is one with the outdoors.

Everyone in Karunagappally, Kerala, a bustling municipality in Kollam just shy of two hours by road from Alleppey, has a story to share about the town. Wise elders will proudly recall seeing the making of the first ever

kettuvallam

, a traditional barge invented in Karunagappally, known for its idiosyncratic thatched covers. Their children will tell you about the Sree Narayana Trophy boat race, a spectacular backwater competition held every Onam, where colourful snake boats, decorated with silk umbrellas and brass lamps, and armed with one hundred oarsmen apiece, cruise down the river to the thumping beat of traditional music.

A long verandah with flagstone walls, exposed concrete columns, wooden detailing, and flamed granite floors bounds the house on all sides.

The pink periwinkles and golden shower trees abloom in the garden find abstract expression across the living room walls.

And their grandchildren, unbeknownst to past wonders, will relay stories of the famous Chinese fishing nets that line the banks of the lagoon, like dream catchers that capture the whispers of the wind and the secrets of the water. For one young Kerala-born, Australia-based couple, both engaged in the medical field, the town’s drawcard was its calm, so much so, that on one visit home, their pursuit of peace led them to buy a verdant parcel of land, and enlist architects Harikrishnan Sasidharan and Neenu Elizabeth of NO Architects, whom they found on Instagram, to build a 3,500-square-foot vacation oasis where they could check out of life and check in to nature.

The dining room is a double-height space with a custom wood and stone table and a fabric-cushioned bench designed by NO Architects and fabricated by MITRA, and matching teakwood chairs from Homework Living, Kochi.

A bird’s eye view of the dining room.

Climatic Cocoon

The couple didn’t just want any home in Kerala; they wanted one that was climatically efficient and took cues from the landscape. “We also wanted it to be minimalist, so that it could be easily maintained by our parents in our absence,” says the wife. In Sasidharan and Elizabeth’s eyes, this wasn’t a building. They saw the home as a child of the earth, made from the same soil, painted in the same broad strokes as the flowers, and sharing its spirit with the boulders and trees. “The tropical environment was the primary inspiration for the aesthetics,” avers Sasidharan. Pink periwinkles and golden shower trees abloom in the garden, and wishbone flowers and Chinese hibiscuses just beyond, set the stage for the palette, inspiring blushing walls and fern-toned furniture that look like they could have been sown in the same breath. The architects contrasted the pastels with natural stone and wood floors, flagstone walls and timber finishes, evoking a painterly forest where the sun plays peekaboo. They kept the

decor minimal

, using a different soft shade, and an assortment of textures, in each space, to give it a distinct tropical modern identity.

The primary bedroom basks in cool shades of textured green and opens out to a private courtyard. The furniture was designed by NO Architects and fabricated by MITRA.

Sage and brown tones give the kitchen a sylvan avatar.

Grown From The Earth

Whether the home grows out of the earth or the earth grows out of the home is a question that challenges the boundaries between nature and nest. The landscape flows into a long verandah with rubble walls, exposed concrete columns, wooden detailing, and flamed granite floors, which encircle the house, acting as an interlude between the elements on either side of the threshold. The architects treated the living room like a canvas, enhancing it with warm floral pinks and printed fabrics that quietly contrast the green courtyard beyond. They made the dining room a diamond in the rough with a double-height volume, a custom wood and stone table, and a fabric-cushioned bench paired with matching teakwood chairs. The surrounding greenery was echoed throughout, but especially in the bedroom, which was conceived in cool shades of textured green and connected to a private courtyard.

Luminous Sanctuary

Unlike most things born of the earth, this home in Kerala didn’t take its time. “It was quite the opposite,” Elizabeth concurs. “The tight time frame was the biggest challenge during the design and construction phases.” As it turned out, the hustle paid off: the owners admit that the end result exceeds their expectations. “We went to the architects for their spatial quality and landscape design, but we weren’t expecting

this

,” says the husband, the

this

in question being a home where the calm perennially exceeds the chaos. The wife puts a finer point on the subject. “We especially love the living room. It lights up in the evening and acts as a gathering space for family and friends,” she shares. The home is both an escape and a sanctuary where the couple can reconnect with nature and each other, far removed from the rigours of everyday life.