HOUSE THAT RAINS LIGHT

by LIJO.RENY.architects

made with love in India

HOUSE THAT RAINS LIGHT | LIJO.RENY.ARCHITECTS 3

Project Location : Thevakkal, Ernakulam, Kerala

Architectural Firm : LIJO.RENY.architects, Thrissur, Kerala

Principal Architect : Ar. Reny Lijo and Ar. Lijo Jos

Plot Area : 2,260 sq ft

No. of Rooms : 3
Plot Dimensions : 46’ x 46’
Facing : North
Built-up Area : 2,950 sq ft
Project Completion : 2020

“The ‘House That Rains Light’ re-imagines dappled shade under the trees, infor-
mal kids play nooks, gardens with flowers, birds and butterflies, all lost to rapid
urbanization, while being confined to a tight plot within a typical residential
layout.”
HOUSE THAT RAINS LIGHT | LIJO.RENY.ARCHITECTS 5

Approach and Facade

Stereotypes were broken for football or cricket, with their
throughout in design, and start friends from the neighbourhood,
right from the entry by avoiding the and a much larger space is needed.
typical compound wall and gate A variety of flowering creepers and
towards the road. The shaded front climbing vegetables grown onto
yard becomes the parking area, a three large frames fixed on the
sit-out and a play area that spills building becomes the extension of
out onto the relatively deserted the much needed garden on this
road when the kids are in a mood tight plot.
HOUSE THAT RAINS LIGHT | LIJO.RENY.ARCHITECTS 7

Design Intent
Owners, a young couple with transcend the small footprint on site
their two kids, wanted a house that and become a multi spatial/sensory
broke free from conventions, dis- experience for their kids to grow up
playing a sense of individuality and in.
character in the spaces that envel-
oped them, without being a burden
on their simple ways of living. They
also hoped the building would
HOUSE THAT RAINS LIGHT | LIJO.RENY.ARCHITECTS 9

Ground Floor Plan Ground Floor

The front door of this biophilic house opens
into a spread out volume that includes clearly defined
spaces such as the living, dining, kitchen, a bedroom
(3900 x 3940) that can be closed when necessary and several
landscape pockets in between them lit by a series of
(3900 x 2000), (7140 x 2000) skylights from above.
(4980 x 3700)
A shared toilet accessed from the wash area
(1800 x 2640) tucked under the stairs and the bedroom remains the
only closed space in the ground floor.
(3900 x 3300)
HOUSE THAT RAINS LIGHT | LIJO.RENY.ARCHITECTS 11

Open Layout
This open layout, that creates a
sense of spaciousness in the otherwise
small footprint of the building, becomes yet
another playground for the kids.
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Kitchen Layout
The kitchen, though kept
private from the entry, extends into
the dining to form a multipurpose
counter and a study table for the
couple who occasionally works
from home.
HOUSE THAT RAINS LIGHT | LIJO.RENY.ARCHITECTS 15

First Floor Plan First Floor

The first floor has an open family space with
two bedrooms, a common toilet and a balcony ac-
cessed directly from it. The skylit courts connect the
volumes vertically and horizontally.
(2400 x 2400)
(3540 x 2100)
(7140 x 3700)
(3900 x 3300)
(3900 x 3700)
(2400 x 2000)
HOUSE THAT RAINS LIGHT | LIJO.RENY.ARCHITECTS 17

Cross- ventilation
Strategically positioned windows,
considering the seasonal shift of wind,
ensure cross ventilation throughout the
year.
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Vertical Garden
Birds and butterflies flutter
around the seasonal flowers on
the green wall, abutting the large
external openings of this floor that
filter air and harsh sunlight as well
as provide security and privacy.
Waking up to simple pleasures of
bird songs and various colours, the
inhabitants find each day a wonder.
HOUSE THAT RAINS LIGHT | LIJO.RENY.ARCHITECTS 21

Terrace Plan Terrace

The three skylit vertical volumes, the two
landscape voids and the staircase shaft, that con-
(4650 x 2480), (4980 x 2750) nects to the clerestory windows at the top, facilitates
stack effect and helps control the internal tempera-
(3540 x 2100) ture during the hot summers of the tropical south.
HOUSE THAT RAINS LIGHT | LIJO.RENY.ARCHITECTS

House that Rains Light

Streaks of sunlight and moonlight
that rain down the skylight change
seasonally in length and intensity, making
the interiors dynamic throughout the year.
HOUSE THAT RAINS LIGHT | LIJO.RENY.ARCHITECTS 25

Terrace Plan Roof Plan

The large green walls, that define
the façade, extend and cover one third the
roof to form shaded pockets on the terrace
suitable for a siesta or an evening of barbe-
cue and merriment with friends and family.
HOUSE THAT RAINS LIGHT | LIJO.RENY.ARCHITECTS 27

BB

Sections through double-height volumes

01/ Section AA- through staircase
02/ Section CC- through living space
HOUSE THAT RAINS LIGHT | LIJO.RENY.ARCHITECTS 29

Sections through living, dining and family area

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Colour Bursts
The materiality of the built
structure creates a neutral backdrop
for the burst of bright colours
thematically positioned throughout
the house by means of furniture,
soft furnishings, decor and patterns
in the flooring. A series of wall
art made of candid photographs,
positioned across the spaces, stand
testament to colourful lives of the
unassuming inhabitants of the
‘House That Rains Light’.
HOUSE THAT RAINS LIGHT | LIJO.RENY.ARCHITECTS 33

Unique Material Application

Flooring: Granite, Vitrified tiles from Nexion
Furniture and Artefacts: rubberband, AKFD, a wooden story, Objects of Interest,
Lightyears, Kaleido Light Company, Concord Industries,
Facade Materials Duroflex
01/ plaster and paint Sanitarware, Fittings: Gebrit, Jaquar, Hindware
02/ metal grill 01 02
Bath Fittings: Jaquar
Switches, Electrical Fittings: Legrand, Sony, Bosch, Finolex, Orient
Lighting: Corvi, SPACES Kochi
Paint: Snowcem Paints, Asian Paints
Kitchen: Jude K. Augustin
Kitchen Equipments: Hettich
Veneer: Nickel
Door Accessories: Hafele, Ebco, Yale
Soft Furnishings: Masper and Spaces

Key Contributors
Interior Finishes
03/ plaster and paint Structural: Keystone Engineers
04/ exposed concrete
05/ cement finished
Civil Consultants, Supervisors: Ashokan C.K.
vitrified tiles
03 04 05 Electricals and Plumbing: Sunil Kumar R.S and Biju T. B.
Landscape: Plain Space Studio, Ajish Devasahayam
Glass Supplier and Installation: Jaison K J
Steel Fabrication: LR Steels
Flooring: Vinu K. K. and Manesh M. R.
Painting: Santhosh Kumar C. P.
Doors, Wardrobes, Carpentry: 1000 kitchens and Surendran S. K.

Photo Credits Praveen Mohandas

Colour Bursts
06/ artwork
07/ coloured vitrified
tiles
08/ metal-frame
furniture
09/ soft furnishing 06 07 08 09
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