Devanahalli Cottage

IMG-20211224-WA0022
NW view
SW view
curvedwall
CSMBlock
slab casting in progress
slab3
towardsDoor
Window-seat doubling up as a cot
IMG_20220717_190059-001
loft above kitchenette
NWview
backsplash02

This is a small cottage for the client who likes to steal a few moments of silence throughout the day from his super busy & focused work schedule, to use like a retreat every once in a while for the family's quiet weekends, doing a bit of kitchen gardening. This cottage, located in a residential layout of Nitesh Developer near the busy main road in North Bangalore, is the first owner-built structure in the layout. Although it is located near the busy Highway, there are cultivated land parcels still surrounding the site and this site enjoys the vicinity of a vineyard and variety of birds visiting it. The cottage is designed keeping in mind a full-fledged house that eventually would come up on this site, such that with minimum intervention new spaces can be added to this cottage on the ground to complete the house plan- with the ground and the first floor for the owner and the second floor with an outside staircase to rent out.

The cottage is built using interlocking cement stabilized 12"x 8"x 8" mudblocks over a random rubble masonry foundation. Interesting part about these interlocking blocks is that they use practically zero cement mortar. Old windows with small wooden shutters, a grill of thick metal bars, wooden fluting on the door etc. give this small cottage a vernacular charm. The walls are partly plastered, with earthen tones of mud blocks and terracotta floor setting the ambience for a "connected to soil" experience.

A small loft space which can be used for sleeping extends the space which literally is just an enclosure with a window-seat, a kitchenette and an attached toilet, all brought together by the sweeping curve of the front wall. The play of light brought about by the various openings brings in charm and dynamism in an otherwise straight forward structure. As you enter, a window-seat near the door creates a nice seating to chat with people working in the kitchenette or relaxing above in the loft and also affords views, of the distant hill dotted with a beautiful jain temple complex, from the main door.

The back splash in the kitchenette is something the client's daughter wanted her "marching ducks bringing food" to be painted upon and thus came the back-painted colorful in-situ glass installation that contrasts well with rustic plastered walls and Kadapa stone counter. In the bathroom, stucco plaster in blue hue on some walls creates a pleasing contrast to the glossy gray and white tiles, espousing rustic charm with a contemporary uncluttered look.

IMG-20211224-WA0022

NW view

SW view

curvedwall

CSMBlock

slab casting in progress

slab3

towardsDoor

Window-seat doubling up as a cot

IMG_20220717_190059-001

loft above kitchenette

NWview

backsplash02

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