CUCOON HOUSE

CUCOON HOUSE _ AG 373 _ MOHALI

Team
Ar. Aman Sohal ( principal architect)
Niharika, Mashaara, Arshjot
Photography by @Purnesh Dev

STORY BOARD

The client Mr and Mrs Khosla who come from the army background desired to have a house that talks oppulance considering their past references . being travelers the clients had a huge collection of artifacts which required to be accommodated . The house was to reflect the lifestyle and sustainability together .The deep plot size was a challenge in itself . The metaphor of a cocoon was used to create the entire built form .

CONCEPT – CUCOON

The house being a southwest facing was imagined to be a largely inward looking house that offers multiple experiences within . The depth of the plot being 90 ft was used to the advantage by creating the built around the periphery and keeping the central part open. The idea was to create an oversized cocoon as an archetype where one enjoys a large enclosure within

THE DIAGONAL ROUTE AND FRAMED OPENINGS

The length of the plot was used to enhance the experience of unfolding experiences. The entrance is planned from the southwest corner into a foyer space and one’s vision travels straight onto the diagonally opposite corner getting clues of the greens in the backyard. Then there are a set of planes that appear to unfold the spaces in between . The light of the central courtyard makes one move towards it and arrive in the middle of the site width with sunken courtyard flooded with natural light on one side and a relatively dark seating arrangement with a beam of light from a linear skylight on the other .The formal seating adjacent to the internal staircase is also separated by a plane with a cutout that offers framed views from the other side and also leads one to the upper level .where the second step is shaped to be tapered to communicate the idea of opening up the diagonal route . This further leads one towards the Bar and dining with the last plane unfolding the kitchen area . These multiple framed openings allowed the users to exhibit their belongings from travels

COURTYARD

The sunken courtyard has the bar behind one plane with a cutout that allows one to connect to the court space from the bar area. The only bedroom on the ground floor towards the front side has one window opening towards the courtyard that received the natural light from the court space. The other being towards the entrance verandah .

BLOCK THE SOUTH WEST

The house is a southwest facing unit received the harsh summer sun for good 6 months of the year . In order to make it passively cool the services like the toilets and the wardrobe spaces were positioned in the front side to block the south west sun and keep the interiors cooler. As a result both the bedrooms towards the west corner on the two levels receive natural light from the courtyard space . The first floor toilets were kept at a low height to allow some more natural filtered light between the slabs through glass bricks

RECESSED OPENINGS AND FACADE

The harsh natural light from south west was controlled by deepening the verandah spaces to create shaded spaces during summers and also enjoy the winter sun during the late afternoons. The openings in the toilets have also been recessed and given a form following square as the basic shape. The hollow cube of the upper level verandah in connect with the square openings of the toilets allowed us to create an expression of planes in interection with the protruding boxes. The use of brick cladding allowed the hint of the context the house was sitting in .

VARIABLE VOLUMES

While the lower level is kept at the same height for the expression of diagonals to enhance , but as one arrives on the first floor level , the linear skylight on the southeast corner fills the double height study / family area separated by a bridged connection on the second floor . The levels allows one to explore the jharokha window of the bedroom on the upper level that allows one to have a dialogue with the neighbouring spaces from within. The study corner on one side received ample light from this court . This level has a well lit central common areas and three bedrooms planned on the periphery .

MATERIALS

The choice of the materials have been kept to the basics. Vitrified flooring across the house and a muted ochre with texture finish has been used for wall finishes. Hammer finish black granite stone has been used for the courtyard wall. The protruding modern jharokha windows with light walnut polish comes in striking contrast with the surroundings and remains one of the few highlights of the space . Brick cladding on the façade with mud like paint finish in texture brings the connect between modern and tradition