Name & Location: The Riparian House

Cost of Project: (INR) 1,50,00,000 INR

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

Description of Project :

Homes in the periphery of Mumbai often are conceived as status symbols of people from the city trying to impose their importance on the agrarian landscape. They are often outrageous examples of design aesthetics imported from a different world, creating alienating invasions in a sensitive rural environment.

The Riparian House attempts to set an example of how this kind of building typology can coexist with its surroundings. Gazing down from the top of a hillock in Karjat, all you see is a cover of green. A cleverly camouflaged roof, looks like nature contrived to place it there, an imprint subtly left behind in the midst of a green cover. The Riparian House is a reflection at integrating homes into their specific environments without leaving a trace. The client has lived for a over a decade in the densely populated city of Mumbai. After retiring from an entrepreneurial corporate live the client founded an NGO in the outskirts of Mumbai and wished to live nearby during most part of the year on a plot abutting a river. The house was meant for him and his wife only, however during the duration of the project the family expanded with two young girls.

Materials of Construction Details :

The house is build I with a hybrid structure of reinforced concrete retaining walls for the part of the house that is embedded in the earth. The roof is made of a two way spanning reinforced concrete slab with inverted beams in between which the green roof layers are laid. The roof slab is supported by 4 steel columns of 150x150mm and is cantilevered by 1500mm to provide shade and rain protection for the glazed front facade. The verandah is suspended from the roof slab by 25mm dia tensions rods. The walls are made of a composite of brick and local Indian randomly coursed limestone of 100mm thickness. Both the living room in the western corner of the house and the master bedroom in the northern corner enjoy panoramic views to the river. Galvanised steel mullioned windows break down the scale of the front façade of the house. A rhythmic row of bamboo poles is placed at close intervals in front of the house to create a layer of privacy without obstructing the spectacular view of the river and the mountains beyond. The bamboo enclosure creates a dialogue between the interior and the dramatically changing landscape.

Special Features :

The natural landscape in the Western Ghats changes from a dense brightly green coloured jungle-like forest during the monsoon months to a pale brown shrubby wasteland during the dry and hot summer months. The plantation of drought tolerant fountain grasses mitigates this transition to a a dry landscape, while also relating to the riparian landscape that exists along the river. The building has to respond to these extreme conditions by allowing enough shade and breeze during the summer and providing a waterproof indoor environment during the stormy monsoons. The screen of bamboos creates an ever-changing pattern of light and shadow throughout the seasons and times of the day, making the building a ‘sensor’ of light.