The nostalgic old opens out to the new

— Photo: C. Ratheesh Kumar

Judicious: The old and the new blend without a jarring note in this house in Thiruvananthapuram.

If you have an eye for the traditional Kerala style of architecture, you cannot miss ‘Sabarmati’ at one end of Tutors Lane in the capital city, a charming, gable-roofed house. However, at first sight, you will not guess that the house has a Baker-model extension behind.

In 2008, the 101-year-old house, owned by S.M. Vijayanand, Principal Secretary, Local Self-Government Department, was renovated and its rear half-reconstructed by the Centre of Science and Technology for Rural Development (Costford). Today, ‘Sabarmati’ stands as a shining example of harmonious integration of the old and new styles of architecture. “Initially, we were thinking of pulling down the old house and constructing a new one in its place. It was Laurie Baker who advised me not to do that. This may not have much of a heritage value, but Baker said this house is precious because of the simple fact that they don’t construct such houses anymore,” says Mr. Vijayanand, who lives here with his parents, P. Murukaiah and Rosalind Ida, wife, Vashitha, and son, Nitish Vijayanand.

Typical of the traditional style, the old house has a large common space, with adjoining small rooms and verandas around. The need to reconstruct the house arose from the requirement for bigger private rooms, Mr. Vijayanand says. “Besides our personal liking for his architectural style, Baker’s philosophy of conservation and eco-friendly aesthetics led us to go for a Baker-model house,” he says.

So, the old house built of laterite bricks was renovated and integrated with the double-storey structure consisting of a courtyard, four bedrooms and a reconstructed kitchen. The two structures join near the middle of the dining room.

“The most challenging part of this project was to synchronise the old and new wings of the house without any design conflicts. We did this by introducing a courtyard next to the dining room. The dining room, kitchen and the two ground-floor bedrooms were constructed around this courtyard, which was also provided with a small veranda,” says P.B. Sajan, architect and Joint Director, Costford, who supervised the reconstruction.

The most difficult part, technically, was, he says, to join the roofs of the two wings.

“The old house has an impressive wood truss and ceiling, which we did not want to disturb. Also, the roof of the new wing had to complement the old roof. So, we introduced traditional features like gables to the new roof as well,” he says.

The kitchen and the work area of the old house have been replaced by a plush open kitchen continuous with the dining room. Together, it forms a cosy living space, where the family members spent most of their time together. “The advantage of this design is that the person who stands in the kitchen will not feel left alone as the kitchen also forms part of this living space,” Mr. Sajan says. On the top floor, a small wood door provides an inlet into the spacious loft of the old building, which has been converted into a store room. Terracotta floors, skylights, palm-wood railings and wood-panelling add to the cool, ethnic look of the new wing.

The renovation of the old wing was limited to re-polishing of the mosaic flooring and strengthening of old walls. The new wing has energy-conserving features, such as solar panels, and rainwater harvesting facilities.

“In a narrow sense, the maintenance and reconstruction of an old house can be quite difficult and costly. But in a broader view, by opting against demolishing the old house, we are now enjoying its simplicity and comfort of spaces,” Mr. Vijayanand says.

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