Aurora is a small two-bedroom weekend house in a coffee estate at Ambalavayal, Wayanad. Clients Brijesh & Ashwathi, residing in the thick IT neighbourhood of Bangalore, wanted a home where they could feel nature, breathe fresh air, and experience a space closely tied to their childhood memories of what they sense as a home. Both of them being from traditional Tharavad, had a fond memory of the central courtyard houses, Pooja room facing the central courtyard, long verandahs and built-in seaters.

Achieving these in a sloped terrain was the challenge of the design and in the end the same became the biggest opportunity to carve out a soulful space with humane proportions connecting to your body & soul at every point.

The granite walls create a sense of continuity from the earth, and, along with the Mangalore pattern roof, slowly become a part of the surroundings, the landscape, and the contour. With not many views to wish for in the thick coffee plantation, granite walls also created internal courtyards where tropical landscapes seamlessly integrated into the interiors without the fear of lack of security & privacy.
The long verandah connects the porch & the entry to house. The traditional repurposed pillars & the large repurposed wooden door with traditional windows on either side creates the sense of entering a very old heritage bungalow. The built-in seaters with black granite provide a nice space for them to sit, relax and relish the nature. The entry courtyard become the centre of the house. With its human scale, the courtyard & the roof is so connected to you, that you seldom difference yourself, the built and the unbuilt. These become so seamlessly integrated, that you feel belong to the space and the space engulf you with a sense of calmness, peace & inner happiness.

The living room is open to the central courtyard and a linear garden room. The granite wall creates a natural background from every corner of the house.

The Pooja room, being in the center, emanates positive energy throughout the house. The bridge through the water bodies on either side of the Pooja room connects us to the pool courtyard of the house, opening to the coffee plantation.
The levels of the site are well integrated to the design. The two bedrooms and living are at the entry level, which climb down 6 steps to reach the dining & kitchen level, which again gets seamlessly connected to the landscape through a rear verandah. The sloping roof which comes down the verandah make the home integrated to the landscape from all sides. Traditional Athangudi tiles, rustic walls, repurposed pillars and furniture bring in an ethnic charm to the house.

Aurora, is a soulful home, where one would inadvertently pause, reflect & self-meditate, to find calm & peace. Architecture is intended to create this connection with our emotions & nature, without being loud & self-egoistic