mōnan lēoht

A home that shines in the moon’s light.

1 The glazed gable, framed in steel, between brick walls, the jaali drum beside the steps

Type: Residence
Location: Rajakkad, Idukki
Status: Under construction
Built-up area: 2,720 sq ft
Architects: Brickweavers, Kochi
Images: Design renders
Reading: 2 min

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Highlights

Built-up area 2,720 sq ft
Status Under construction — concrete frame complete (Nov 2026)
A tall glazed gable over the living room, lit at night like a lantern
Three bedrooms on the ground floor, two more in a plastered wing above
A cut-out courtyard and a lightwell bring sky and air into the plan
Wire-cut brick jaali screens, and a curved perforated-brick drum by the steps
Cavity walls carry wiring and plumbing, so the exposed brick stays untouched
An open kitchen with a separate work kitchen alongside

About the project

Its name means ‘moon light’, and the house is organised around exactly that: a tall gable filled with glass that lifts above the clay-tiled roofs like a lantern. The living room sits beneath it. By day the gable draws light in; by night the house glows out towards the road and the garden in front. It is the one bright, contemporary moment in a house otherwise made of Kerala’s tiled roofs and brick.

2 The entrance front: a brick drum, steps up and the steel-framed gable

The house stands on a plot of just over 20 cents at Rajakkad, in Idukki. From the road it reads low and earthy: a stone-edged planter, a lawn, wide steps up to a sit-out, and beside them a curved drum of perforated brick. Behind the gable the plan opens up. A cut-out courtyard and a lightwell bring sky and air into the middle of the house, and small planted courts sit between the rooms.

By day the gable draws light in; by night the house glows out.

Three bedrooms, the living room and an open kitchen with a separate work kitchen share the ground floor. Two more bedrooms sit upstairs, in a plastered wing at the back with its own balconies. The brick is meant to be seen. Where it is left exposed, the walls are built with a cavity, so wiring and plumbing run inside and the brick face stays untouched. Screens of wire-cut brick jaali give privacy while letting air move through.

3 From the parking court, the roofs step down behind the brick wall

Early studies mapped sun and wind across the site and placed an internal courtyard to temper the living and dining spaces in summer. Inside, the gable becomes a room. Rafters run up to the ridge, brick carries through from outside to the television wall, and full-height glazing in slim black frames brings the garden in. The concrete structure is complete and construction continues. The images here are design renders from the studio’s model.

Day Night

mōnan lēoht — Night — 4 Drag across the image: day on the left, night on the right

mōnan lēoht — Day — 4 Drag across the image: day on the left, night on the right

The spaces

The living room

Inside, the gable becomes a room. Slim steel rafters run up to the ridge, and the walls either side are glazed full height in slim black frames, so the garden reads as part of the living room. Exposed brick carries through from outside to the television wall, a timber bench sits beneath it, and the polished floor keeps the whole space light.