light-filled earthy colored home is cocooned in lush green garden in india

three house by habitat design is an example of creating spaces in unison with nature by limited disruption and only necessary new intervention.

Hdeco - Gagan edited by yasmina karam August 23, 2021 3 min

in this project by habitat design collective (hdeco), two existing houses come together when a third unit ties them forming a continuous l-shaped entity. designed for a joint family in begampur village of rohini, delhi, india, the house is dominated by an earthy material palette, wooden shingles, and badarpur plaster finish.

hdeco blurs the inside and outside in the three house 1 — the façade design with an earthy palette of terracotta tiles integrates the three houses

all images by estudio916

the site had two existing buildings, one which housed the family (house 1) and another (house 2), used as a council meeting hall in the basement, a dispensary on the ground floor, and a vacant living space on the first floor. to optimize resource utilization, habitat design collective decided that the small parcel of land between the houses will be used to insert a ‘third’ house (house 3), connecting the existing two buildings, rather than demolishing and building a new house. house 3 is designed as a slanted cube and acts as a knot, tying the two existing houses.

hdeco blurs the inside and outside in the three house 2 — the slanted cube acts as a knot between the two existing houses

the interiors draw their elegance from a hint of color here and there, in addition to wood and stone highlights. the two skylights, one above the temple and the other in the main stairwell bring in ample daylight and facilitates cross-ventilation. all windows are double glazed, installed with an external projection that shades from the harsh summer sun and also carries planters. flushed with natural light, the interiors were kept minimal, with bright furniture and accent features.

hdeco blurs the inside and outside in the three house 5 — bay window provides an extended connection to the courtyard garden

the exterior façade embraces an earthy palette of terracotta tiles and brown textured paint, camouflaging with the densely vegetated greens of the courtyard. the slanted roof of house 3 has been constructed with hollow ms pipes, to keep the construction lightweight. in addition to minimizing resource use in construction, the project treats its greywater which allows the reuse of the greywater from washbasin and showers in the wc flush tanks. rainwater is harvested for watering the gardens.

hdeco blurs the inside and outside in the three house 8 — the corridor acts as an evening tea & snack sit out with access to the greens and protection from rain

hdeco blurs the inside and outside in the three house 9 — open floor plan has the family lounge flowing into the dining and kitchen with light and ventilation from the skylight

hdeco blurs the inside and outside in the three house 10 — ceiling panel light enhances the spacious quality of the kitchen

project info:

name: three house

designers: habitat design collective (hdeco)

location: begampur village of rohini, delhi, india

photography: estudio916

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