MANTHA FARMHOUSE
Research Areas
Sustainability
Vernacular methods
Organic Farming
TEAM : Harika Bommu (Junior Architect), Latha Kovelamudi (Principle Architect), Padma Mahadevan (Associate Architect)
TIMELINE : January 2015-December 2018
SITE AREA : 17 Acres
ROLE : Project Manager, Designer
Methods
Working drawings
Site study
Site analysis
Detailing
Design Kit
AutoCAD
Sketch-up
Photoshop
I worked on the design refinement, project co-ordination and team management of a farmhouse lying on the outskirts of a metropolitan city in the south of India. The design language of the house is an amalgamation of traditional architecture practices of the region with sustainability as a driving factor.
Visual elements that inspired our design language
The sloping roofs, enclosed with Mangalore tiles was inspired from the traditional Kerala houses. Adobe bricks were made with the mud found on the site. One of the main features of the house is the deconstruction of the traditional "Arugu" which acts as an interplay between the open, semi-open and closed spaces to create an engaging environment to the user. This also separates the blocks and gives privacy to the individuals but also links them through passages with great visuals.
Time lapse of the building's growth
My Role
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Apart from acting as a human scale for building measurement (See image to the right) I started off by providing hundreds of working drawings to the site using AutoCad and SketchUp.
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After understanding the full reach of the project I was promoted to the role of a Project Co-ordinator where I was responsible for communicating between teams(vendors, interns, office)
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My favorite activity was visiting the site, talking to vendors and learning first hand from them.
Mantha-A photoseries
