Artic Villa: Unveiling a Sustainable Sanctuary in Manjeri
Artic Villa is a stunning three-story contemporary residence designed by Dotand in 2022, located in the lush, green surroundings of Manjeri, Malappuram, India.
This southeast-facing gem prioritizes natural light, cross-ventilation, and seamless connections to the outdoors, creating a true haven away from the southern heat. With a thoughtful design approach that caters to the user’s tastes, this eco-friendly home perfectly blends form and function while offering an array of inviting spaces to live, work, and play.
About Artic Villa
The Site and Design Priorities
Nestled among lush greenery in a residential area of Manjeri, Malappuram, Kerala, Shareef’s residence is a southeast-facing, single-family villa that occupies only 20% of the site area. This design approach allows for ample open space while minimizing exposure to the intense southern heat typical in India. The project prioritizes natural light, cross-ventilation, and local visuals, while reflecting the residents’ preferences and harmoniously integrating the surrounding elements.
Architectural Circulation and Space Hierarchy
The villa’s spacious, 6-bedroom design reveals itself gradually as you explore its multi-layered architecture. Simple planes are punctuated by double-height windows, sit-out spaces, and grand terraces and balconies. Each room enjoys a connection to the surrounding landscape, with the floor plan spread out across the site’s vertical and linear axes. This layout enables shorter spans for cross-ventilation, and habitable interior spaces receive partial sunlight through large windows. An exclusive consultation space, complete with ample parking and sit-out areas, is separated from the family villa and features its own park space.
Embracing Eco-Friendly Building Concepts
The residence employs eco-friendly building concepts that emphasize environmental regulation and natural ventilation. Inside courtyards and outdoor connections distinguish the home, with a strategy to minimize social areas while maximizing interactive family spaces. The interior courtyard doubles as a light well and green pocket, connecting upper and lower floors while promoting airflow. The open floor plan, large external openings, and courtyard gardens and sit-outs work together to reduce interior and exterior temperatures, eliminating the need for air conditioning in common spaces.
Encouraging Social Interaction
At the heart of the home, an interactive private zone connects three ground-floor bedrooms with attached washrooms. The central core is further enhanced by a strategically placed dining space, with family living situated on the northwestern side. This area connects the open kitchen and dining area and offers expansive openings that embrace the landscape and neighboring vegetation. Spaces flow seamlessly into one another, with the interior courtyard connecting the upper level and providing a light-filled, airy void.
Material Selection and Spatial Celebration
The interiors showcase a variety of materials in light pastel shades of beige and brown with undertones of gray, combining gray marble stone and black granite. Wooden textures, natural wood veneers, and green planters provide visual richness against the subtle ambiance of interior spaces. Wooden partition walls maintain privacy while preserving openness, and eastern sunlight filters through an outdoor patio that opens to the central hall. Patios and courtyards, along with three-sided central hall openings, ensure ventilation throughout the day. Each bedroom occupies an independent corner, maximizing privacy and visual aesthetics.
Infusing a Home with Soul and Character
While architectural and interior design knowledge offers countless design options and material choices, every home needs its own unique soul and language. Mies Van Der Rohe’s statement, “Less is more,” encourages selecting fewer elements but making the right choices. In Shareef’s residence, a consistent character connects inhabitants to the spaces they occupy, creating a truly harmonious living environment.
Photography by Turtle Arts Photography
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- by Matt Watts
