A long, vaulted space within the brick masonry, 2.2 metres in width, accommodates the various activities arranged in a row. The linear space spills over to the north east into alcoves and projections, and on the south west under the large overhang of the main vaulted roof, open to nature, where boundaries between inside and outside are dissolved.
Vaults in the ground floor use achakal bricks structurally. Flat terraces use custom-made trapezoid modules over partly pre-cast beams as in a jack arch. Terracotta pots are used as fillers on intermediate floors to increase the effective depth of concrete while minimising the volume of concrete and steel. The double height volume of the house enhances the air stack movement and increases the draft of natural ventilation.
Project description by Anupama Kundoo
Wall House is situated outside the planned city limits of Auroville, in Auromodele, an area designated for research and experimentation. The architect’s residence, it compactly accommodated everyday needs whilst effortlessly expanding to absorb guests. It attempted to not only redefine the building program for a private-residence; it tested various spatial and technological innovations to inform other projects. Spatially, it redefined borders and transitional spaces in response to the climatic conditions and contemporary culture.
Technologically, it involved local materials in new and inventive ways given the global resource crunch and rapid urbanisation. Landscape design, an integral and inseparable part of the overall architecture, worked with the topography to integrate the indoor-outdoor transition as an integral experience. WallHouse was the culmination of an ongoing extensive research and experimentation in low-impact building technologies that are environmentally and socio-economically beneficial, bynegotiating the balance between hi-tech and low-tech and incorporating everyday materials through techniques that include the participation of those with lower skills and education with few skilled craftsmen.
Such hybrid technologies focus on new ways of using age-old local materials that combine hand skills and local craft traditions alongside knowledge-based scientific systems. A laboratory for research and experimentation, this was a prototype for future development.
