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Houses with plain, stark, trim properties, geometric shapes, and even intentional design imbalances line our urban landscapes. Such “manufactured housing” is increasingly becoming the norm and it’s not all bad, because they are not only budget-friendly but easy to “assemble”. The other extreme is represented by a arty styled home layout, evocative of a romantic past.

Home designs strongly rooted in tradition, culture, and specific locales are often typified by curved entryways, ornate columns, large carved windows, and vivid splashes of ethnic colour. It is certainly going to be expensive for most people to replicate the extravagant style of days gone by, in its totality. However, these pure, well-proportioned, and harmonious home designs have been gone too long and merit revival. More importantly, these contain certain motifs that can blend in with new home designs and present-day urban landscaping to suffuse these with more richness and life.

The temple town of Kanchipuram (“Kanchi”), a 70-km drive from Chennai, in Tamil Nadu, is witnessing a new architectural experiment that goes beyond the confines of the discipline to create homes characterised by a gentle interplay of contemporary modern décor and classic design elements. A Kanchipuram home is a story woven in concrete and like every other story – it has two sides.

An energy-efficient and functional home

Dubbed the “Kanchipuram Home,” this habitation has an extremely practical energy-saving design that makes use of doors, windows and skylights to admit a flood of soft, soothing natural light. This sustainable way of lighting up our lives and improving indoor air quality couldn’t have come at a better time. Every passing day is a reminder that we need to drastically reduce our dependence on electricity generated by burning fossil fuels, which leads to climate change.

Two large 20-inch windows and the main door at the entrance of the Kanchipuram dwelling look onto the pavement not too far away. A semi-open courtyard sits at the centre of this construct, and gives occupants an impression of being under the blue sky – well almost. A glass skylight has been neatly introduced to keep out hot air and protect against UV radiation from the sun while letting in enough light. For the same reason, there are glass doors around the courtyard. The kitchen is also well-lit, thanks to a large rectangular window while the dining room admits natural light beams through an off-centre skylight. Strategically placed expansive windows along narrow passageways, with slim sightlines, provide uninterrupted views of the world outside, besides letting in soft and even natural light.

A traditional household exuding positive energy

The Kanchipuram home has all the makings of a contemporary and functional dwelling that is light, bright, and airy and promises its occupants a new lease of life. However, what uplifts its pleasing aesthetics and makes the home intimately welcoming and familiar are the ethnic overtones introduced in the right measure at the most optimal places. The profoundly rich red-oxide colour finish on the floors as well as the concrete flower boxes and seats in the verandah, display a quintessentially provincial vernacular charm. At the same time, it goes well with the otherwise cool and contemporary feel of the facade.

A splash of resplendent traditional colours greets you on entering the living room, kitchen, and bedrooms, not to forget the bathrooms, in the form of intricate and well-cured Athangudi tile floorings. Square-shaped tiles, yellow with elegant red floral patterns, grace the floors of the living room, courtyard, and passageways, investing in these living spaces an intense local identity. Yellow is symbolic of the sanctity of beauty and youthfulness. Blue-green patterns, which have rich associations with happiness and strength in various ancient cultures, adorn the kitchen floor. The same decorative design extends to the bedroom flooring except that it is inlaid with a white floral pattern. The kitchen counter has a functional backsplash stencilled with customary floral patterns.

Achieving the right mix of contemporary functional décor and vernacular designs is both art and science. You can paste, say, handmade brick tiles and laterite cladding stone along the plastered entrance walls to celebrate vernacular architecture. Embellish the frontage and living room with hand carved beams and pillars reminiscent of a nearly lost tradition. Vintage sofas and storage boxes, colourful console tables, natural carved wood storage cabinets, solid wood trunk chests, and, most of all, a puja room. There is really no end to ingenuity or no rule that can’t be bent to add more of the local flavour to a Kanchipuram home, with one caveat - don’t overdo it!

Whatever be your vision of a dream home – contemporary, classic, or functional, or fusion, our expert construction professionals can help you realise that. We work closely with you at every step of the journey towards your home of the future, tightly managing timelines and budgets. To get started, contact us and one of our home designers will get back to you.