Fact File
Location: Aldona, Goa
Size: 270 sq m
Principal Architect: Ruturaj Parikh
Photography by: Rishul Bangar, Aradhana Seth and Vikrom Mathur, Studio Matter

Kokum House, Goa by Studio Matter, is a tactfully crafted, economical private residence situated in a village named Quitla, near Aldona. Constructed on a mere 9 m by 12 m footprint, as half the site belongs to an orchard zone, the home is an illustration of architecture and design that adapt to their context and environment. On the apex of a small mound, the house opens to beautiful vistas with typical Goan houses on three sides and one side facing the orchard. The roof is designed with a high pitch to reflect the steep slopes of the local village church. It also functions as a climatic device, reducing heat ingress. An atrium is carved within this reticent frame to bring in light and ventilation. Spatially, it renders lightness in the house, and at night, it induces a contrasting effect, wherein the house lights up against the darkness of the lush surroundings.

The living experience is simple, and gestures such as open-to-sky showers jutting out as cubicles in the façade, completely openable louvred step-out spaces on the ground floor, and the quality of light embellish it. A restricted palette of materials outlines the complete aesthetic, composed of tactile materials such as laterite blocks, cement floors, non-plaster materials, steel, glass, minimal elements, and warm hardwood. The envelope is a monolithic grey structure (cement finish with titanium punning) with an industrial roof made of Zinc AI sheets. The kitchen has been integrated into the living space, rendered black, with all its fixtures and appliances among the white walls and grey flooring of the house. A wooden deck extends out, and a second skin made of GI pipes and bamboo completes this rugged outdoor area. The incorporation of various materials to form one tall mass that stood out among all low-height structures in the vicinity was done with tact.