A Verandah And Courtyards weaving Cuckoo’s Nest | Between Spaces
Cuckoo’s Nest is built on a corner plot measuring 45’x75’ with roads on the western and northern edge in a gated layout and surrounded by a silver oak tree and some palm trees. The brief was to design a house that is simple, pragmatic, and modern for aging parents of the owners, the owners themselves, and their two sons. The entire narrative of this house is constructed around the idea of playfulness and pragmatism. The name Cuckoo’s Nest alludes more to the playful imagery of Cuckoo’s clock.
Visit: Between Spaces
The proposed design interprets the typical layering in the south Indian temple complex, where the inner sanctum is surrounded by layers of pillared verandahs and the outermost layer of a tall fence. This layering helps in gradually taking people from the chaotic outdoors to the serene and quiet indoors in a sequential manner.
Programmatically, the house has 2 bedrooms for the old parents, living, dining and a pooja room on the ground floor. The first floor has the kid’s bedroom, a study, and the master bedroom around a double-height volume over the dining area on the ground floor. A small garden on the northern side becomes an extension to the living room. This garden is enclosed within a brick jaali wall on the northern side, to ensure good cross ventilation and a certain degree of privacy from the road without making the space feel cramped. The entry to the house has been deliberately convoluted to make the inhabitants move through a green edged verandah sandwiched between the courtyard on its eastern side and the brick jaali wall on the western side of the property.
The kid’s bedroom on the first-floor juts out of the main mass and has been crowned by a pitched roof, clad in Sira Grey Granite, allowing a small loft over the bathroom. This doubles as a cozy play area for the kids. The inherent honesty and simplicity of the house are reflected in the usage of terracotta bricks, form-finish concrete, white walls, white marble, and very simple décor in the interior spaces.
A deliberate transition in scale and materiality is created through the brick jaali wall and the low height form finish roof over the entrance verandah which acts as a threshold between the immediate surrounding and the interior. The verandah leads to a foyer space separated from the living with the help of a filigree screen finished in MDF and dark blue color paint. The foyer leads to the living room and the double-height dining space, right in the center of the house.
The interior spaces are kept very simple with selective walls finished in hues of blues and browns. The interior spaces are flooded with indirect and soft daylights through skylights over the staircase and deep-set windows. Cuckoo’s Nest is designed to be a sanctuary intended to resonate with the silence and quietude of a temple complex, yet be filled with the sounds of conversation between three generations.
Fact File:
Designed by: Between Spaces
Project: Cuckoo’s Nest
Project Type: Residential
Year of Completion: 2020
Site Area: 313.5 sq.mt.
Built-up Area: 565 sq.mt.
Location: Bangalore, Karnataka
Design Team: Shveta Mohan, Pramod Jaiswal & Divya E
Photography: Shamanth J Patil
Website: https://betweenspaces.co.in/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betweenspacesarchitects
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betweenspaces.architects/
Conceived as a dialogue between architecture and landscape in Alibag, CASAVIVA transforms the house into a sequence of spaces where nature becomes an integral part of everyday life. This Home In Alibag Is Conceived As A Dialogue Between Architecture & Landscape | SHROFFLEoN Design Brief Designed for a family seeking a calm and timeless residence, […]
Some homes begin with a drawing, and The Saffron Verandah began with an orchard. In the mango-growing landscapes of Shoolagiri, a quiet hamlet in northern Tamil Nadu, the land has settled into its own rhythm over generations. Rows of mature mango trees stretch across nearly three-quarters of an acre, their broad canopies tempering the southern […]
The house is conceived as a metaphor for the valley it inhabits. The design borrows the language of a bustling street skyline, stretching the home along a corner site so it frames the valley and its lake. Three linear bays, offset vertically and linked by corridors, open the plan to filtered western light and cross […]
The site is located in Ahilyanagar town of Maharashtra, with a design brief of 7,000 sq feet, while the house had to be designed for the hot and dry climate, which responds carefully to extreme temperatures, intense sunlight, and low humidity. The design focuses on reducing heat gain, improving natural ventilation, and creating comfortable indoor spaces with […]
“Pravah” — A House That Breathes is envisioned as the main concept of this home revolves around a fluid, light-filled home where architecture becomes a continuous experience of movement, air, and connection. Located in Pal Gamtal, Surat, the project is a residential redevelopment on a 1,850 sq.ft. plot within a dense urban fabric. The site, […]
Editor’s Note: There’s a quiet clarity in homes that are shaped by real, everyday needs. Alcove feels like a thoughtful response to just that, balancing openness with comfort in a setting rooted in tradition. Moving away from a dense, older home, this residence embraces light, air, and simplicity while still holding on to its Kerala […]
Timeless architectural features, such as courtyards, are always associated with bringing the naturally public forms to the world’s heart, building the most peaceful, secluded outdoor areas. These outdoor spaces maximize the living experience with their private space feature, which gives one the option for leisurely relaxation, recreation, or gardening. Furthermore, it has also been a […]
Architecture font choices go beyond style—they shape how your work is perceived. From portfolios to presentations, the right architecture font instantly communicates clarity, precision, and personality. As architects, we design not just with space but with every detail, including typography. Selecting a strong architecture font shows your commitment to visual storytelling and design consistency. In […]
The Indian farmhouse accommodation goes on to capitalize on a mature evolutionary synthesis of ancestral aesthetics and contemporary features. With this, the outside and the inside of farmhouses became places of comfort with nature. In this blog, we delve into 15 incredible farmhouse designs that entail a harmonious blending. While they exhibit different spaces in […]
Plants for home garden, apart from making houses look more beautiful and inviting, add health and calmness to them. Having any kind of indoor plant, a herb plant or a flowering plant adds some value to your decor and the quality of the space. Always choose plants that will flourish in your space and climate. […]