Kalarigram House / Badoloka

Architects: Badoloka
Area: 5000 ft²
Year: 2022
Photographs: Studio Frameify
Lead Architect: Praveen Ram
City: Auroville
Country: India

Kalarigram House residential and guesthouse project designed by Badoloka near Auroville, India serves as a residence for a Kalari master, his family, and guests attending the adjoining martial arts school and treatment center. The design centers around an inward-focused layout for privacy, featuring a central courtyard that anchors informal living areas, workshops, and performances. Eight enclosed bedrooms contrast with open communal zones arranged around the courtyard to promote interaction and airflow. Brick jalis screen large bay windows, combining ventilation, sun protection, and visual privacy, while defining the exterior character of the house. An upper-level attic with clay tile roofing functions as a workshop and thermal buffer, accessible via a spiral staircase and terrace. The architectural framework blends traditional elements like stone columns with concrete slabs and exposed load-bearing bricks once considered defective, enhanced by cast iron and wood details, creating a raw and culturally grounded aesthetic.

The Kalarigram House is situated on the outskirts of Auroville, within a site that includes a Kalari martial arts school and a treatment center. It was designed to accommodate the Kalari master, his family, and guests participating in treatments and workshops. The client’s brief emphasized the creation of a flexible, multifunctional space that seamlessly integrates traditional architectural elements and local vernacular with contemporary standards of living.

Considering the active surroundings of the house, which include the Kalari school and the clinic, the primary design objective was to enhance privacy by orienting the structure inward. This strategy resulted in the creation of a central courtyard that functions as the focal point of the residence. Open spaces around the courtyard were designed to be adaptable for informal living, private performances in art and music, workshops, and various other activities. The courtyard also plays a vital role in bringing in natural light and helping regulate the microclimate within the interior spaces.

The design reserved enclosed, formal spaces exclusively for the eight bedrooms, while spaces such as the living room, dining area, and kitchenette were arranged openly around the central courtyard. This configuration promotes openness, encourages connectivity, and supports social interaction among both residents and guests. Main cooking functions are handled in a larger kitchen block located outside the house; therefore, a smaller kitchenette within the house is intended for lighter cooking needs.

The bedrooms are designed with large bay windows that are screened on the exterior with brick jalis. These elements provide privacy from surrounding activity, support natural ventilation and cooling during the summer months, and create intricate light patterns that enhance the visual quality of the interiors while offering protection from the harsh summer sun. The brick jalis define the exterior skin of the house, giving it a distinctive identity. They contribute a traditional yet refined element to the architecture, blending cultural heritage with a modern aesthetic sensibility.

An informal open terrace, intended for evening gatherings, can be accessed both from within the house and independently from the exterior via a spiral staircase. This terrace leads to the top floor, which contains an attic space covered with a clay tile roof. The attic serves multiple purposes, functioning primarily as a flexible area for workshops and group activities. Moreover, it acts as a protective layer against rainwater infiltration and excessive solar heat, thereby safeguarding the bedrooms located beneath it.

The architectural framework surrounding the courtyard followed an experimental approach, combining traditional stone pillars with a strong concrete foundation and beam structure to support the slabs. The remainder of the house uses locally sourced bricks for load-bearing walls, which were originally regarded as manufacturing defects due to their surface texture. This distinctive surface pattern of the exposed brick was intentionally retained to give the residence a unique identity. It is complemented throughout by exposed cement plaster, cast iron, and wood finishes, collectively achieving the raw aesthetic and enduring quality envisioned from the beginning of the project.