The architects from the office called “Wallmakers” used a wavy brick wall inside and as an air-permeable outside wall for their construction project in India. Described by the team as the Pirouette House, the home pays homage to revered architect Lawrence Wilfred Baker. It features a contemporary rendition of his signature Rat Trap Bond technique known as masonry bonding. A brick wall was built vertically rather than horizontally inside and out in order to provide heat and heatMaterial efficiency of the sustainable houseto improve.
Building concept defined by wavy brick wall inside
The beauty of the residence is based above all on puregeometric shapes, a shell roof and carefully designed, angled walls. In typical fashion, the architects raised the scaffolding to construct the stairs and metal grilles, while leftover wooden planks form part of the floor. A unique composition of sugar cane wrapped around it creates a subtle privacy screen and remarkable furniture. Scroll down to find out more about it.
The sculptural Pirouette House is located in the center of India's urban and crowded city of Trivandrum. Built of undulating masonry, the house sits on a small plot of land that was surrounded on all four sides by other residential projects. With the construction project, the design team sought an inward-facing apartment with equally inward-facing interior spaces that overlook a central courtyard. The house is oriented along an east-west axis with continuous openings at each end to allow for maximum cross ventilation.
The 20th century British designer and architect Laurie Baker famously used similar passive cooling strategies and a palette of perforated brick materials. The new building is designed as a modification of his idea, which is iconic in this area. The team also used a masonry strategy introduced by the late architect. A brick wall is laid on the inside with a rotated vertical orientation. This creates a cavity within the wall, increasing thermal efficiency and using the total volume of reduced bricks.
Unusually sustainable and practical construction
The dynamic elements cross the room from left to right and meet to support the ferro-cement roof. In addition, each offset brick wall was individually designed on the inside so that it can divide the interior spaces of the house as efficiently as possible. This results in larger volumes and an element of privacy. Pipes left over from the construction phase were repurposed for the central staircase and latticework.
The wooden boards were also assembled to form part of the flooring in the living areas. That's how it could be doneTeam of architectscreate a sustainable construction method with practical outdoor and indoor spaces that at the same time enable a functional and comfortable home.
