search

The Traditional Courtyard House Builds Upon the Beauty of Natural, Emotional, and Physical Boundaries | Craft Narrative

Editor’s Note: There are times when you come across work that is unabashedly and unruly true to the core of a soulful practice. Craft Narrative has not only stated its purpose through a raw yet distinctive design, but they have also done it while being sympathetic and respecting the inhabitants. And oh, what a feeling it would be to lie under the mango trees in a blissful courtyard. ~ Nishal Sevak

“There is a tree. My relationship with it is that the same wave of breeze goes past the both of us” -Shanta Shelke.

Architecture is about inclusivity, just as much about the environment, design, and the inhabitant’s context. It is about making boundaries but also blurring them where need be. Located in the rural village of Yavat, Maharashtra is The House of Tranquil Rooms, designed for an agricultural family of two brothers. 

The Traditional Courtyard House Builds Upon the Beauty of Natural, Emotional, and Physical Boundaries | Craft Narrative

Visit: Craft Narrative

The traditional courtyard house builds upon the beauty of natural, emotional, and physical boundaries, but its essence is borrowed from the courtyard and its tree. The whitewashed exteriors reflect the simplicity of the client’s needs—he clearly wants a house that happily accommodates the family members, and the mango tree, while taking care of the utility as well as functionality. Here, it is hard to define the precedence, who comes foremost—the families, the tree, or the house; everyone is a crucial part of each other’s existence.

The house overlooks the old mango tree, and as one goes around it, the house spatially defines and blurs lines between people and nature. Walk in the courtyard corridor paved with natural stone, and a sparrow of two might fly over your head-the inclusion and respect for nature can be felt evidently.

Although the family stays together under the same roof, spaces are designed with sensible appropriations to facilitate just the right quota of familial activities.

Everyone has a place of their own—there are spaces carved out near the windows for reading, practising yoga, or overlooking the farms. The kids, however, have the entire house to themselves; from the entrance to the big gachchi the house is blessed with.

Undoubtedly and at all times during the day, everyone’s favourite spot in the house is always near the old mango tree, after all, it binds them to the roots while giving them shade, a sense of identity, and a whole basket of kairis.

Be it the unfolding of the morning newspaper in the courtyard corridor or bringing the calves in for a tour, the tree, and the holy tulsi vrindavan shower their blessing. After all, they rustle with and breathe on the same breeze that gives respite to the family members.

Very much like human tendencies the house sequentially unfolds itself, from single-height spaces for each family’s use to double-height spaces for accommodating the two families together as they have their meals in the dining room or discuss their day in the living room.

The verandah welcomes fellow villagers and calves with the same warmth. The east-facing windows double up as rooms to provide refuge to anyone and everyone in the house and the intimate scale of it personally connects with the inhabitants.

Since the family follows the tradition of storing grains and spare utensils, a store room is provided, alongside the utility area. The colour palette matches the site’s context—whites for advocating the colour men traditionally wear and every other colour in the house to celebrate the sarees of the household women.

The memories of the children, the rituals of the men, and the giggles of the women make up the decor of the house, paired only with a hand painted bullock cart wheel or two.

With abundant and resplendent views of lush green farms from whichever aperture you peep from, it vividly makes you feel the tranquility and rootedness of living in a village, where people are humble, nature is benevolent, and lives are uncomplicated. Such is this house—built to protect, nourish, and pay homage to the village’s traditional ways of living, enhanced with small yet significant architectural interventions.

Fact File

Designed by: Craft Narrative

Project Type: Residential Architecture design

Project Name: House of Tranquil Rooms

Location: Yavat, Maharashtra, India

Year Built: 2022

Project Size: 4500 Sq.ft

Principal Architect: Ar. Yatindra Patil & Ar. Vijay Kharade

Team Design Credits: Bharat Yadav, Shubham Kapre & Ajay Harsure

Photograph Courtesy: Studio Recall & Sohaib Ilyas

Firm’s Instagram Link: Craft Narrative

For Similar Project >> A Striking Brick House with Hints of Traditional Design and Essence of Reformed Living



This Bungalow Style House Is Rooted in Vastu and Modernism | The ART Container

This bungalow style house influences the site context and can be visualised in multiple facades of sharp edges & cuboidal form. Her,e salient features like U-Projection are an expression of the bench on a level one. The house divides itself into three bays. On the ground floor, where first bay acquire all public activities like […]

Read More

Console House’s Modern Architecture Design Floats Above The Forest | Hello Wood

Imagine yourself on the terrace of your hidden mountain retreat, drinking a fresh cup of coffee as you admire the sunrise emerging from behind the rolling hills across the valley. This serene atmosphere is exactly what Hello Wood’s latest project, the Console House, is designed to offer. The Console House showcases modern architecture design while […]

Read More

This Contemporary Tropical House Design Captures The Essence Of Rural Charm | Urban Hive

As cities continue to grow and evolve, there is a growing desire to incorporate elements of rural living into urban design. By embracing rural living principles, cities can create more eco-friendly and sustainable spaces. Rural living is not just about wide-open spaces and rolling hills. It’s also about community, sustainability, and a connection to nature. […]

Read More

This Home Is An Ode To Luxury Residences That Embrace Earth and Elegance | Vitthal Todkar & Associates

Located in the thriving city of Ichalkaranji, this is an example of luxury residences is a seamless blend of timeless elegance and modern sophistication. The striking exterior, adorned with brick and natural stone cladding, exudes warmth, character, and permanence. These rich textures create a visually captivating façade, harmonizing tradition with contemporary design while making a […]

Read More

Stone in Architecture: 10 Must-Know Projects In India

Throughout history, stone has embodied permanence, artistry, and raw beauty in architecture. From the grandeur of Roman amphitheaters to the earthy elegance of modern villas, stone remains a beloved material for its strength, sustainability, and aesthetic richness. As design trends evolve toward natural materials, eco-conscious decisions, and biophilic design, stone has found new expressions — […]

Read More

This Biophilic Office Design Is Sculpted in Daylight | AD Studio9

The space adopts a biophilic office design and climate-responsive approach, creating a workspace that reimagines urban interiors by deeply embedding them with nature. The style is earthy, minimal, and modern with a strong contextual sensitivity to its location. Also, a lush canopy surrounds the bare-shell site on the first floor, allowing for abundant daylight and […]

Read More

Saba House Is A Wind-Catcher of Memories and Modernity | Project 51 A (h)

The design started from an old house where a family of seven stood, one yet to be born. Hari & Sreelakshmi, Usha-Hari’s mother, Malathi, teacher, Hari’s grandmother, kids, Sankari, Paru, and yet to be born Sreebala. Four generations living in a 60-year-old house that had begun to show its age with dimly lit rooms, leaking […]

Read More

This Wellbeing Centre Blends Seamlessly with the Dense Canopy and Natural Surroundings | Urban Circle

The clients’ requirement was to create a wellbeing centre at Oleander Farms, Karjat, Maharashtra, that would be a tranquil sanctuary for their visitors. Walking through a dense canopy of trees, hearing the soft chirping of birds, we slowly embarked on an expanse of a 2-acre of land that was both open yet heavily tree-laden. This […]

Read More

This Office with Garden Blurs Boundaries between Work and Retreat | Arcline Architects

The thought was to create a space which would act as a formal real estate workspace in the daytime and a family retreat in the evening. By its name, as it is, ‘Leveled. This office with a garden is defined using levels, in terms of volumes, surfaces as well as edges. These levels are rationalized […]

Read More

These Courtyard Villas Connect Deeply with Nature and Everyday Rhythms | The Grid Architects

Nirmay (निर्मय) reflects purity and holistic well-being. Envisioned as a quiet sanctuary amidst the noise of urban life, these courtyard villas offer a way of living that is calm, conscious, and deeply connected to the land. Rooted in sustainability and ecological harmony, the design responds to both nature and the everyday rhythms of its inhabitants. […]

Read More
  • A Multi-Storey Residence that Establishes a Strong Connection with the Outdoors | team3

    Every Pastel Color Evokes a Sense of Emotion, Sophistication, and Radiance in this Residence | AndSpaces