Moderna

Moderna is a modern house in Rajakkad, Idukki, planned in section as much as in plan. It sits low on a plot of about an acre and covers only a small part of it. Ceiling heights change through the home: the living and dining hall rises higher than the bedrooms and kitchen on either side, so warm air can gather above head height while daylight reaches deep into the rooms. Light and air are designed in section, not added later.

Outside, that thinking shows up as a series of crisp white roof planes that overlap and overhang, sheltering a wall of grey stacked stone, timber-framed windows and slatted screens. Most of the house is on one level — three bedrooms, living and dining areas, a kitchen, a work area and a sit-out — and a stair rises from the central hall to a single upper room and two open roof terraces.

Light and air are designed in section, not added later.

Openings are generous but shaded. A deep porch with a stone-clad pier marks the entrance, a timber bay window projects towards the lawn, and stepping stones lead across the grass to the front steps. A railed roof terrace above one wing looks out over the garden. It is a contemporary house that still behaves like a tropical one: shaded, airy and open to the garden.