Timber Courtyard House
- Bengaluru, Karnataka
- 2022
- 3,900 sq ft
- Completed
Charred timber, stone and a sunken courtyard compose a house that turns inward toward its own garden.
Charred timber, stone and a sunken courtyard compose a house that turns inward toward its own garden.
The brief asked for a place that would feel generous without excess. We began with the site — its orientation, its trees, the path of the afternoon sun — and let those observations set the plan before any material was chosen.
Rooms are arranged as a sequence of thresholds: compressed entries that open into tall, light-filled volumes, with views held back until they matter. Services, storage and circulation are gathered into thickened walls so that the principal spaces remain uncluttered.
Light and material
A restrained palette of teak, corten steel, kota stone is used consistently inside and out, so the building reads as one continuous piece of craft. Every junction was detailed with the fabricators on site.
04 views
Design concept
The concept is a simple one: a quiet frame for everyday life. Mass is kept low and deep along the street, while the garden side dissolves into glass and shade.
A single organising line — an axis running from entrance to garden — structures the plan, aligning circulation, views and light.
Architecture
Load-bearing masonry and a concrete frame are expressed honestly. Deep overhangs and perforated screens shade glazing from the western sun, while a stack-effect stair draws warm air up and out.
Rainwater from every roof is channelled to an underground tank that feeds the garden.
Interiors
Joinery is built in rift-cut oak and lacquer, with integrated lighting that washes walls rather than floors. Soft furnishings are layered in natural linen, wool and leather so that the rooms grow warmer with use.
Bathrooms are wrapped in a single stone, with bronze fittings chosen to patinate over time.
Materials
Teak
Primary material
Corten steel
Weathering steel for screens and cladding.
Kota stone
Locally quarried limestone, leather finish.
Project timeline
Brief & site study
Site survey, climate analysis and conversations with the client family.
Concept design
Massing studies, physical models and the first material palette.
Detailed design
Construction drawings, joinery design and lighting coordination.
Construction & handover
Weekly site supervision through to styling and handover.
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