asymmetric brick vaults top NO architects' compact home in india

no architects’ KOODU is a sculptural tropical home in india

Located close to the southwest coast of India, NO Architects’ Koodu is a compact, vaulted home. With its name meaning ‘nest’, the house is designed for a single mother and her two children in Eravipuram, Kerala, sited on a small plot with only half the land used for the built footprint. Through its form and materiality, it reconsiders what affordable housing can look and feel like, by applying thoughtful spatial and material strategies within these tight constraints. Its standout feature is an experimental asymmetrical groin vault, built in exposed brick and drawing from the lineage of architect Laurie Baker, who pioneered cost-effective construction in India using local materials and skilled craftsmanship.

all images by Harikrishnan Sasidharan

curving lines continue the contours of the brick vaults

Koodu’s vault is both structural and symbolic, built in brick with exposed jaali patterns to capture breezes, soft light, and a sense of spatial openness rarely afforded in homes of this scale. Its curvature also acts as an anchor for the open-plan ground floor, where the living, kitchen, and dining zones coalesce without partitions. One bedroom and an attached bathroom complete the lower level, while a winding stair accesses two further bedrooms and a shared bathroom upstairs.

Throughout the house, NO Architects’ earthy materials and pastel hues subtly define spaces and elevate atmosphere. Despite the compactness of the plot, the home is visually and physically expansive, aided by its openness, carefully positioned voids, and seamless connections to the tropical garden, designed by the Indian firm’s landscape arm, NO Landscapes. This garden blurs thresholds and contributes to the building’s microclimate and quality of life. Unveiled as a pro bono effort supported by the Indian government’s PMAY housing scheme and a group of sponsors, Koodu’s architecture too showcases design as an inclusive tool, created in collaboration with local masons and suppliers.

NO Architects Designers and Social Artists complete Koodu