The Raghavan residence on TTK Road is one of the few houses that give you the best of both worlds - living in the heart of the city, but anchored in nature too. That is because the house is nestled on the upper floors of a multi-use, multi-storey building and has been built ingeniously around a 1,500 sq. ft landscaped courtyard.
The house’s living spaces are structured along the three sides of a courtyard in such a way that the living spaces cut off the courtyard from the noise and grime of the busy arterial road that it lies on. As for the inner walls of the living spaces, they happen to be made of retractable strengthened glass, with the effect that they allow a view of the courtyard from every spot in the house. When the retractable glass doors are thrown open, the house becomes one with the courtyard that includes a lush lawn, vivid shrubs, a pebbled pathway, and even a water body.
Since the house is built in a Tamil ‘Pa’ shape around the landscaped courtyard that is oriented north, it gets showered with diffused lighting, while the external walls around the living spaces shields the house from the oppressive solar glare from the east, south and west. Consequently, the entire house gets great cross ventilation too. Natural material such as Sadar Ali grey granite reverberates through the house right from its façade, compound wall, exterior paving, window levers, counters, and extends even into its interior décor. The building uses solar energy for heating and lighting purposes.
