Sharing a boundary with a historic chapel in the village of Salvador-do-Mundo Goa, this residence-cum-studio space is designed on a linear plan with a conscious attempt to leave more than half the site empty for a rich, tropical landscape. On the ground floor, a studio space flanks a kitchen and an external staircase that connects with the residence on the first floor. The staircase is designed to connect the two spaces on two different levels internally as well as externally. The design follows a simple grid that imagines the possibility of transforming into a layout for a fulltime residence in the future.

Built on a concrete frame, the house hosts a nine-feet cantilevered slab that covers the staircase and the essential services towards the south. On the east, a thickly foliaged forest landscape is borrowed by the house for views in multiple spaces. Simple materials – IPS Floor, Cudappah Steps, Timber Windows, Metal Frames, Exposed Brick and Laterite, and a Load-Bearing Vault composed of Wire-cut Bricks frames the building. The building roof vault is finished in a stunning coat of Black China Mozaic – a waterproofing surface that adds a beautiful sheen to the vaulted ceiling. It was built over eleven sections around the idea of ‘lost scaffolding’; it was set over a custom metal frame which was removed post-curing.

Perforated metal sheets enable breeze to flow uninterrupted through the house. The built in furniture is composed along the designed niches and the moveable furniture is repurposed from the furniture of the former premises of the studio.

Built on a very limited budget, the building uses its east-west orientation and stack-effect through the vaulted roof to remove hot air and enable comfort without exhaustive use of air-conditioning. The house borrows the luxuriant landscape of Goa with the native trees including Mango and Teak framing the wonderful garden within and around the site.

The site is a small parcel of land of 525 sq meters area. The building having a built up area of 240 sq meters approx and 140 sq meters footprint is nested in a linear alignment keeping most of the site vacant for the lush context. The access to the site was through a narrow lane amidst the afforested green, hence special care was taken to make sure the vegetation around is not impaired and trees on site are not removed and changes to the building design were deployed; even accommodating for one tree to pass through the building.