THE COOL HOUSE

The house designed by Samira Rathod Design Atelier is an example of contemporary architecture that relies on the innate knowledge of climate and material that work in harsh climate regions

Architecture is a response to many parameters, context, site, vegetation, geography and climate. When building in a dry and arid place like Bharuch, the heat, locally called as ‘loo’ in Gujarati was a big such parameter that the architecture had to respond to. When making a house, it is imperative to take cognisance of many practical parameters of comfort, and for this house in Bharuch, it was particularly tackling the summer heat. The name ‘Cool House’ has come from the way the house has been designed; a respite in the summer, a tree’s shade under the scorching sun, the house as in the words of our patron is like a funnel that channels all of Bharuch’s wind into the house, making it a cool, comfortable haven to live in.