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PYHT Creates Exceptional, Vernacular Farmhouse with Earth Walls & Passive Design Principles

Nirvana Joy by PYHT

The project is a 2000 square foot farmhouse located on two acres of land in Khadavli, Maharashtra.

The design and architectural language of the house are largely inspired by a house that was designed by PYHT on the adjacent plot a few years ago. The idea was to create the main living spaces and the entrance along a central axis that connects to the landscape and frames the view of the farm.


All the other private spaces – bedrooms, toilets, and kitchen – are built around it. Instead of entering directly into the house, one enters the house through an enclosed courtyard which serves as a transition space between the inside and outside. The courtyard then leads up to the living room which is designed to be a semi-open space.

This open living space reflects the atmosphere of being in a verandah while maintaining a balance of providing shelter from the elements and privacy. While the bare wall of the entrance courtyard brings privacy to the semi-open living space, the walls of the bedrooms flanked on either side create a sense of enclosure for it.

The load-bearing walls of the house, made out of compressed stabilized earth blocks are 9 inches thick and manufactured on-site; this keeps the interior spaces cooler in summer and warmer in winters. The earth walls also regulate humidity during the monsoons. The roof structure is fabricated with mild steel sections and finished with terracotta tiles on top. A secondary skin under the roof in the bedrooms helps create a thermal barrier for the heat radiated under the roof tiles.


Project: Nirvana Joy

Location: Khadavli, Maharashtra

Design House: Put Your Hands Together – BioArchitects

Design Team: Shahveer Irani, Areen Attari

Photography: Sagar Padwal



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