The project is situated in a riverine area at Aluva in the state of Kerala, where an industrial home design has been envisioned for a Non-Residential-Indian family that visits their homeland annually. The location of the site holds special meaning to our client, who grew up in a riverfront house at the banks of Periyar. The location is reminiscent of his childhood memories.
Editor’s Note: Rooted in memory and crafted for reunion, this riverine retreat blends industrial poise with heartfelt warmth. Sunlit courtyards and flowing spaces echo a life once lived and now lovingly reimagined. A home where nostalgia meets modern ease inviting moments of pause and quiet celebration. ~Isha Bora
This Industrial Home Design Is Inspired By Riverfront Childhood Memories | DesignLoom Architects
The project earned the nickname ‘Transformer House’ owing to its semi-pre-fab nature of construction. It blends sharp industrial features with soft, free-flowing spaces. As a result, the home offers a thoughtful combination of voluminous and intimate areas for the client.
They envisioned their house to entertain and host the many relatives and friends who visit. This meant a spacious living, dining and kitchen.
The living space opens up to a private outdoor patio where the family holds barbecue parties. The dining space opens up to a semi-open courtyard, with a glass ceiling and vertical perforations.
The occupants often enjoy a quiet morning and evening tea in this sunlit space. A sliding window visibly connects the courtyard to the kitchen.
The voluminous space with a high ceiling, clerestory windows, and skylights contrast the more private, cosy, intimate spaces.
This three-bedroom residence has a multipurpose upper living that is used as a TV room, workout space and can also be converted to bedroom space by using the convertible sofa.
Ample storage spaces were an essential aspect of the design brief. The colour palette used includes warm tones of terracotta, with cool tones of cement finish grey, steel and glass against a neutral white. The black granite and kadappa stone finish provides a balancing contrast to the cool tones.
The design incorporates clay jali walls, double heights, and perforated sky-lit courtyards to achieve uninterrupted airflow and ample natural light, responding to Kerala’s coastal humidity and rising temperatures.
The staircase acts as the core of light and ventilation by providing additional air movement by discharging the rising hot air through a wind-powered industrial revolving ventilator.
The design carefully places these openings and perforations on the east side, allowing morning rays to fill the building. These aspects have reduced the need for electric lights during the day and any need for air conditioning.
The use of prefabricated 12 x 3-meter glass fibre reinforced gypsum panels (GFRG) for the walls, with its vertical ribs filled with concrete, insulates the interior space from the heat outside.
The gypsum used in the manufacturing of the panels is an industrial by-product that otherwise ended up in landfills polluting the environment.
These innovative panels are a better insulator to heat than conventional wall materials like brick and concrete blocks. the smooth and straight wall surface achieved by GFRG panels allowed for avoiding plastering of walls.
Using the GFRG panels for walls, the superstructure was completed in 100 days, saving time and cost. Collectively, the design vocabulary and construction material ensure considerable temperature reduction inside the building and adequate lighting and ventilation throughout.
Fact File
Designed by: DesignLoom Architects
Project Type: Residential Architecture Design
Project Name: Transformer house
Location: Aluva, Kerala. India
Year Built: 2022
Duration of the project: 2 Years
Built-up Area: 3000 Sq.ft
Principal Architects: Ar. Mithun O Raghavan & Ar. Meghna Anilkumar
Photograph Courtesy: Running Studios
Contractors: Shellarc / GFRG constructions
Products / Materials / Vendors: Wallcovering / Cladding – cement texture, stone finish walls. Construction Materials – Column Footing & Frame Structure + GFRG panels / Sanitaryware – CERA Windows – Teak,, Anjili Wood, Aluminium windows / Furniture – various, handmade / Flooring – Johnson / Kajaria / Kitchen – Hettich / Trojan Ply /Merino Lam / Paint – Asian Paints / Artefacts – various / Wallpaper – various Hardware – various
Firm’s Website Link: DesignLoom Architects
Firm’s Instagram Link: DesignLoom Architects
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