Substance And Sustainability

When a building resonates with the architectural language of a region, including all its ethnic, regional and local dialects, it re-establishes the lost identity and cultural vibrancy of a place. Such building design is best defined as vernacular architecture. Architect Himanshu Patel’s farmhouse is a stunning example of the said genre.

- Kanupriya Pachisia

Architecture is a unique component of a country’s culture and in a country as diverse as India, the local architectural map is constantly changing and evolving.

Vernacular architecture is composed of local materials, derived from local customs and techniques that have been passed down over generations. In the words of Architect Himanshu Patel, “Vernacular architecture not only reflects local traditions and needs but also expresses climate responsive planning principles. Thus it becomes mandatory to understand age old methods before using them in today’s context.”

Nestled in the rural landscape of Amalsad village in South Gujarat, the 450 sq m farmhouse sits in a beautifully landscaped 1.25 acre plot.

This charming house also called the ‘Vashi farmhouse’ not only exhibits the potential of vernacular architecture towards sustainable design but also acts as a much needed antidote to today’s rushed lifestyle. Replacing modernism’s boring-box legacy, Himanshu shares, “In the present architectural scenario, one is veering towards modern architecture where humanistic considerations are no longer the primary logic for evaluation of design. This has led to a break from tradition and given us a host of impersonal, anonymous buildings.”

The Vashi farmhouse limits everything to the essential but does not remove its poetry from it. The architect has used brick and mortar in a way that reveals the materials’ innate qualities along with the craftsmanship of their assembly.