Wood Screened Veranda Provides Sun Shading To Interior

Designed by: BetweenSpaces.

Location: Bangalore/Bengaluru, India | Latitude: 12.957° N

A deep-set veranda and slatted wooden screens can add amazing benefits to a tropical house. Verandas and wood screens provide sun shading to the interior spaces. They also offer privacy.

“The most prominent element of the house is a 6ft deep veranda/balcony around the son’s bedroom on the south and south-eastern side at the second-floor level.”

– BetweenSpaces

House of Voids is in a gated community in urban Bangalore. BetweenSpaces, a small architecture and interior design firm which operates out of Bangalore, are the designers.

It sits on a 50ft x 100ft site with the street to the south of the lot.

Concept and Design

For the client, this house was more than just a place to live or a statement piece. Instead, they wanted to create a home that would serve their children and grandchildren.

“…it was more of a legacy that he would leave behind for the generations to come.”

– BetweenSpaces

The name of the house comes from its form and the architects’ approach to designing it. Rather than starting with a specific geometry in mind, internal and external voids create the form. This process creates a series of double-height spaces internally and deep recesses on the outside.

Photo: Shamanth Patil J

In addition, the architecture and interior design express strong, clean lines. It is free from embellishments.

The home is for a close-knit family. However, each member has their own space. In addition, the bedrooms open onto outdoor spaces. Hence, each member of the family has their semi self-contained area within the house.

Verandas / Balconies

Verandas and balconies have long been a significant part of traditional architecture in tropical regions. In addition, they have several benefits and perform various functions. These include shading interior rooms from the sun and providing a covered outdoor area. They are also a great place to sit and admire the view or watch the world go by.

In House of Voids, the balconies offer these benefits.

On the first floor, the balcony is outside of a secondary living room next to the daughter’s bedroom. It becomes a large outdoor room to lounge in. The planter around the balcony gives it a soft, pleasant experience and a great space to enjoy.

Photo: Shamanth Patil J

The deep-set balcony on the second provides shading from the harsh south sun to the son’s bedroom. Glazed doors surround this bedroom. Hence, the veranda along with the bifold slated wooden screens offer privacy to the otherwise exposed bedroom. These shutters also provide sun-shading protection.

In addition, verandas can enhance the aesthetics of a home.

“We scooped out masses on the south and southeast side, resulting in deep-set balconies which compositionally balanced the stoic white walls to which it was anchored to. The voids were then articulated further by cladding the cantilever balcony edges with steatite (soapstone) and a series of sliding-folding teak wood louvre shutters.”

– BetweenSpaces

These two elements further emphasize the horizontality of the veranda.

Materials and Construction

Photo: Shamanth Patil J

Teak is used extensively throughout the home. Warm wooden tones are a hallmark of Tropical Modernism. Also, they contrast nicely with the white walls of the house.

“We strived to achieve a balance between the austerity of white walls and the visually rich texture of timber and stone, creating simple spaces that would always be.”

– BetweenSpaces

A lot of the ceilings are also teak and are done both inside and outside. They extend to the edge of the cantilevered slabs over the balconies and terminate with steatite stone cladding. The architects did this to emphasize the voids further. In addition, the slatted wooden screens are teak.

“The poise induced by the light filigree like wooden screen across the south and southeast edge and the cantilevered slab anchored to the walls on the southwest and eastern side stood in contrast to the fragility brought in by resting the southeast corner of the balcony over a circular column.”

– BetweenSpaces

Here, the use of materials and form helps anchor the eyes to the void below the loggia. Hence, it creates a sense of balance between the solid and void.

Several wall claddings and floors finishes are also wood and stone. These occur throughout the house.

Traditional House Design Principles

Two things primarily dictated the spatial planning of the house.

One is the linearity of the site. The other is Vastu which is a traditional Indian science of orientation and spatial planning in architecture.

Photo: Shamanth Patil J

Vastu dictated that the entry is in the northeast part of the house. This requirement prompted the architects to leave a 10ft wide space on the ground floor. The area has a strip of tropical plants all along the eastern side.

The house was designed from inside out, scooping out volumes intermittently. Therefore, creating double-height public spaces on either side of the central corridor.

In addition, the large expanse of veneer clad false ceiling at the first-floor level unifies these spaces under a single element.

Conclusion

The verandas or balconies on this house provide both function and beauty.

They provide privacy and sun shading to the inside.

Their use of materials, form and design accentuates the voids from which the house gets its name.

Along with traditional Indian design principles, the House of Voids is a great joy to the family who lives there.

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Designed by: BetweenSpaces
Photography by: Shamanth Patil J