Name & Location: KOBA HOUSE, KOBA VILLAGE, NEAR GANDHI NAGAR, GUJARAT

Cost of Project (INR): 75 LAKH

Built-up area: 300 SQ YARDS
(In case of Public Building minimum built-up area should be 1000 sq. meter)

Description of Project:

‘Koba house is situated on the banks of river Sabarmati, north of Ahmedabad, amidst a small village. The natural gradient towards the river has a balanced cut and fill to tuck the built form and simultaneously, to provide a massive thermal and visual barrier from the main approach and the village. Straddling the south-east corner of the large site, the plan opens towards the river with a sweeping verandah, extending to the entire length of the house. The organization addresses two prime concerns – climatic comfort and varying scales of social spaces within the house.

Materials of Construction Details:

The spectacular view of the river and its curving bank further north are heightened through the verandah structure emerging out of R.C.C. shear walls which splay on both ends to anchor into the earth, 80 feet from the water’s edge below. This is contrasted by the massive terracotta masonry walls towards the south and west which cup and shade spaces within. The expressive qualities of these two materials are interspersed with a third element of light M.S steel structure supporting the verandah and the upper level passageway. The interplay of these elements provides a material vocabulary to the form. The underside of the insulated metal roof is paneled with recycled wood, giving added warmth to the space. The formal living area is visually linked with the rest of the verandah through simple transparent glass walls, layered from the sun with bamboo screens. The massive brick walls define the sheltered lived in spaces. The concrete walls express the manner in which the building anchors itself on the edge and the steel roof and support structure provide the much needed light canopy to shield from the sun and rain.

Special Features:

The prevailing breezes are channeled into the ‘sunken’ courtyard from the west, funneling it further across the verandah. The south and west sides are buffered spaces with services and passageways. The linear organization enables a transitional central passageway which unites all the built and un-built spaces within.

When opened, the transparent passage fuses the courtyard and the verandah into an airy central core, penetrable from multiple levels and directions. This blurs the distinction between outside and inside and affords a comforting ambiguity between the formal living and the informal lounging.