Salt Pan House: A Louvered Retreat Shaped by Sun, Breeze, and Tide
Salt Pan House stands on the edge of a salt pan in India, composed with quiet rigor by We Design Studio. The house sits between the Chapora River and a mangrove belt, its profile pared back to climate and context. A limited buildable area sharpened every move, turning restraint into a working method and the land into a guide.
A low breeze moves across the salt pan and the water darkens at the edge. The house meets that horizon with a grounded base and a lantern-like upper level.
This is a house set between land and tidal water, a compact retreat calibrated to a demanding coastal climate. In India, We Design Studio arranges concrete, teak, and zinc in a clear hierarchy that answers sun, rain, and glare. The plan stays lean and the materials stay honest, so the site leads the conversation.
Place The Mass
The largest salt pan defines the southern edge, and the structure grips that line with purpose. A sculpted concrete volume forms the ground level, anchoring daily life while resisting spray, heat, and the hard knocks of coastal weather across long seasons. Between the living rooms and the reflective basin, a linear pool runs as a quiet datum, its infinity lip reading as a seam with the saline water beyond. One gesture, many effects.
Lift The Veil
Above the concrete base rises a teakwood box wrapped in openable louvered screens. They temper Goa’s fierce sun and monsoon, creating a breathing envelope that modulates light and privacy over the course of the day. A continuous balcony runs around the first floor, and the adjustable louvers turn it into a deep ventilated buffer that cools bedrooms and a family lounge without isolating them from views. At night, the upper level glows softly.
Enter, Then Unfold
Arrival compresses and releases. A steel-framed canopy, bracketed by laterite walls, leads into a double-height lobby where a free-standing metal stair sets a vertical rhythm for movement through the home. That central volume opens to living, dining, and a bar, each aligned to the pool deck so interior activity stays in dialogue with water, breeze, and changing light throughout the day. A ground-floor guest room faces south toward dense foliage.
Work With Weather
The roof reads as a light protective plane: a titanium-zinc alloy pitched form that sheds monsoon rain quickly and shades the louvered perimeter. Services sit in discreet niches, which keeps principal rooms clear and cross-ventilated while reducing thermal load during peak sun. Coastal regulations add complexity, yet they shape sharper thinking—the team builds a coffer dam for the pool and braids an open municipal drain into the site diagram without visual fuss. Ingenuity becomes the quiet constant.
Make It Tactile
Materials stay local and legible. Staff quarters pair exposed concrete with laterite stone, grounding service areas in regional craft and a robust, low-maintenance build that can weather the coast. The ground floor carries polished cement plaster, while interior walls and floors use cement in muted tones—grey, black, green, mustard, and terracotta—then soften at touchpoints with cane, exposed plywood, and richly veined Indian granite. Every surface earns its role.
Layer Daily Life
Just beyond the main rooms, the site stacks program with ease. A pickleball court, an all-weather gym built with recycled timber equipment, a yoga pavilion, and a private jetty extend living outward and keep bodies moving. A greenhouse grows produce close at hand, nodding to self-sufficiency while tying routine to seasons and weather shifts (harvest becomes a small ritual). Below the pool deck, a spa with steam, sauna, and changing rooms folds wellness into the plan without stealing daylight.
On approach, the house reads calm and grounded. Inside, the sequence stays clear and the air moves, catching salt and shade in equal measure. The result supports unhurried days at the edge of water—quiet, durable, and tuned to its place.
Photography by Ishita Sitwala, The Fishy Project
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