Fact File
Location: Thiruvananthapuram
Size: 196 sq m
Principal Architect: Vinu Daniel
Photography by: Jino Sam

Pirouette House by Wallmakers is a homage to revered architect Lawrence Wilfred Baker, featuring a contemporary rendition of his signature “Rat Trap Bond” masonry technique, whereby bricks have been placed vertically rather than horizontally to facilitate thermal and material efficiency. Located smack in the middle of an urban and crowded locale of Trivandrum, the site was a small plot suffocated by other residential projects from all four sides. The idea of this residence was to have an inward-facing house with all its spaces opening into a funnelling central courtyard. The house is aligned in the east-west direction, with openings facilitating maximum cross-ventilation.

In the context of the city of Trivandrum, which stands as a testament to many of architect Laurie Baker’s masterpieces, it seemed fitting to modify one of his inventions, the Rat Trap Bond masonry technique, on this site, which did not offer the opportunity for soil excavation or for making mud blocks. Keeping in mind that brick kilns in Trivandrum are a dying industry, with people opting out for wire-cut, machine-made bricks, this was also an attempt to promote this local agriculture-based industry that is on the brink of extinction. The Rat Trap Bond is a brick masonry method of wall construction in which bricks are placed in a vertical position instead of the conventional horizontal position. Thus, creating a cavity within the wall increases thermal efficiency, cuts down on the total volume of bricks used, and is ideal for concealing structural facets and service ducts.

The idea was to form a series of slanting walls that danced left and right, converging only to support the Ferro-cement shell roof. Each staggered wall has been tailor-made to suit the issue of deficiency in space that this residence posed, aiming to create larger volumes and a feeling of privacy. Scaffolding pipes from the construction stage were reused to form the central staircase and the grillwork. Keeping in mind the principle of discarding nothing as “waste,” the wooden planks were pieced together to form part of the flooring in the living areas. Cane has been acquired from the neighbourhood, then treated and wound around the grillwork to create subtle screens for privacy and to compose varied furnishings.