July 7, 2024

The Ring House: Studio prAcademics’ Circular Retreat

The Ring House in Jaspur, Ahmedabad, designed by studio prAcademics, blends contemporary design with the natural beauty of its surroundings. This circular weekend home for a large family features traditional Saurashtra elements like the ‘faliyu’ and ‘osri,’ offering an airy, light-filled space with lush views of the agricultural landscape and abundant fruit trees.

Circular brick building with glass walls, cantilevered roof, and grassy courtyard.

Modern architectural design featuring curved concrete canopy, brick columns, and tiled patio.

Striking indoor pool surrounded by brick walls and glass windows, featuring a unique overhead lighting fixture.

Sleek, modern lobby with curved ceiling, circular lighting, and plush yellow seating.

Elegant dining area with dark walls, large windows, and a round marble table surrounded by leather chairs.

Spacious bedroom with large windows, modern furnishings, and access to an outdoor pool.

A curved, two-story brick building with a balcony, nestled in a lush, green landscape.

Curved brick facade with large windows and paved walkway leading to grassy yard.

The image depicts a modern, curved concrete structure surrounded by lush greenery and paved walkways.

Circular structure with brick walls and a distinctive white roof design surrounded by lush greenery.

About The Ring House

The Ring House, located in Jaspur, a northern suburb of Ahmedabad, is a weekend home for a large family. A water canal passes through the site’s southern edge, while agricultural fields surround the other sides. The site boasts over 120 trees, mainly Mango and Chickoo (Sapodilla), attracting various bird species and enhancing local biodiversity.

Family-Oriented Design

This home accommodates 14 family members, including four kids under 10 years old. We carefully integrated the built form with the existing features and trees. We chose a zone without fruit trees to minimize the footprint.

Landscape Integration

The site’s varied contour levels guided the landscape design. We elevated the house by 3 meters (9.8 feet) to create a table-like structure with grown lawn areas. This elevation surrounds the house with thick foliage, bringing birds close to the living areas.

Traditional Saurashtra Inspiration

The design draws inspiration from the Saurashtra region’s traditional village typology. The ‘faliyu’ (forecourt) is an open-to-sky entrance space, providing light and ventilation. The ‘osri’ (linear verandah) serves as a buffer space for informal seating, circulation, and occasional sleeping.

Circular Built Form

We adopted a circular ring form for the built mass. The circular ‘faliya’ (entrance space) offers ample seating and allows natural light through roof slits. The ‘osri’ separates the bedrooms, kitchen, and dining area from the living space.

Strategic Perforations and Shading

Brick-clad walls and internal spaces circle around the living areas, forming the ring. Strategic perforations create diverse views of the natural landscape. The slant, saucer-like slab projection provides shading to the walls and openings.

Studio prAcademics explores the interplay between human dynamics and the subtleness of spaces. Typically, space remains fixed while humans move around it. However, we aim to reverse this, allowing space to revolve around human activities.

Photography by Inclined Studio

Visit Studio prAcademics

- by Matt Watts