Project
Residential — 2024
Vaan House
Vaan House
A weekend house folded around a rain-fed court, built in load-bearing basalt so that the walls are also the structure.
Location
Alibaug, Maharashtra
Area
8,400 sq ft
Completed
2024
Category
Residential
Services provided
The problem
The family wanted a house for four generations to gather in, on a coastal plot that floods for eleven weeks a year and bakes for the other forty-one.
Our approach
We lifted the living plinth 1.2 metres, wrapped it in a deep verandah, and let the monsoon collect in a central court that doubles as the social heart. Basalt from a quarry nine kilometres away carries the load and holds the night's cool through the afternoon.
Floor plans
How the plan actually works
Materials
Four decisions that set the whole building
Deccan basalt
Load-bearing walls, quarried 9 km from site
Burma teak
Reclaimed; windows, doors and joinery
Lime plaster
Breathable internal finish, no paint
Kota stone
Honed flooring throughout the plinth
Before & after
Drag to see what the site looked like
Related work
Other projects like this one
Let's build
something
that lasts
Let's build
something
that lasts
Tell us about the site, the brief and the budget. We will tell you within a week whether we are the right practice for it — and who is, if we are not.