Named after the client’s grandmother, ‘Vanaja’ the courtyard house is a tribute to our culture and heritage. The home is located at Manipal which is a beautiful hilltop town that has views of the Arabian sea on the west and the western ghats to its east. While the home essentially has southern vibes celebrating local materials and craftsmanship, even with the random rubble boundary walls.

‘Vanaja’ The Courtyard House Is A Tribute To Our Culture And Heritage | Vriksh

Visit : Vriksh

With the laterite clad walls of the home and the courtyard with pillars handcrafted in local karkala stone, it also has a place of pride for some exquisite craftsmanship of the north as seen in the entrance foyer of the home and art pieces spread around the house.

In the interiors we used Jaisalmer stone to complement the laterite and grey karkala granite. Hand crafted pillars made from local karkalla granite adorned the courtyard to set the mood of the home. The false ceilings in the living areas imitating the ceilings in traditional Mangalore homes were all made from recycled wood.

The Courtyard, though a small one, is the focal space in the entire house with the hand stone carved pillars, with the stone imported from the local stone quarries. The Courtyard is open to sky and a lovely space to enjoy the Mangalore rains. A traditional wooden and brass swing to cozy-up with a book and a cup of tea of the lazy afternoons!

The Foyer : A handcrafted brass Ganesha studded with semi-precious stones greets you at the foyer, flanked by hand carved windows on either side sourced from Jodhpur.

The opposite wall is a Feature Wall, designed with doors and windows seen in havelis of Rajasthan that is entirely handcrafted by Artisans from Rajasthan. A set of wood and brass seating completes the look. The false ceiling is completely fashioned out of recycled wood.

The Dining table chairs and bench is crafted in wood and handmade ceramic tiles. The traditional balusters and railings are again crafted from recycled wood.

The Upper level family lounge with stone pillars and balusters overlook the lower courtyard. A study space is carved into the family room on the upper floor with a partition fashioned with wood and chettinad patterned wall covering (on the left). A wooden ladder leads to an attic space above the study which works as a play area for the client’s twins.

The design aesthetics of the home celebrates Indian architecture, materials and art. We inherited the structure with a small courtyard in the centre (untreated) and that became our starting point for the design to set the vibes of the house.

The brief was to have the focus more on living areas in terms of the traditional look and detailing and to keep the bedrooms lighter. The Master Bedroom has a 4 poster bed with a hand carved 7 foot  headboard.

The furniture in the bedrooms was all custom-made at site using natural veneers for the surface finish.

When we were roped into the project, the skeleton was already done. However we had to enhance it to give it a traditional look and feel. We chose to work with a material palette of natural materials. Red Laterite and Random rubble was sourced from local quarries. Laterite was used to clad the walls and the random rubble stone was used to create the boundary walls.

The cobble stone paving the seating at the entrance was all made from the local granite sourced from a town called Karkala. The Jaisalmer flooring was chosen to complement the laterite and wood tones .

Ethnic Vibes

Inspired by our heritage – When we first met Mr. Hari, our client, we were clear that he would like something that connected him and his family with their roots. So the design inspiration and vision was to create a space that really made them feel happy to be back in India and feel connected and in sync to our culture, traditions and architecture. A space that would make them feel like they are HOME!

FACT FILE

Designed by: Vriksh

Project Type : Residential

Project Name : Vanaja

Location : Manipal, Karnataka

Year Built : 2021

Duration of project : 24 months

Project Size: 4000 sq.ft

Project Cost Appx : 2 Cr

Principal Architect: Sonal Shetty Rao

Team Design Credits : Sonal Shetty Rao, Amit Rao

Photograph Courtesy : Shamanth Patil

Products/Materials/Vendors : Wallcovering , Cladding – Allweather  lime finishes / Construction Materials- Laterite, Karkala Stone/ Lighting – Lafit / Doors and Partitions – Crafted by Vriksh / Sanitaryware – American Standard , Grohe / Windows – Handcrafted wooden windows / Furniture – Crafted by Vriksh / Flooring – Jaisalmer / Kitchen – Crafted by Vriksh / Paint – Asian Paints / Artefacts – sourced from artisans from different parts of India / Wallpaper – Nilaya by Asian Paints

Firm’s Website Link : Vriksh

Firm’s Instagram Link : Vriksh

Firm’s Facebook Link : Vriksh

For Similar Projects >>> ‘SUKOON’ ACTS AS A SYNONYM OF CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE