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THE BRICK HOUSE

by RLDA Architects

made with love in India

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Project Location : New Delhi

Architectural Firm : RLDA Architects
Principal Architect : Rahoul Singh, Lakshmi Chand Singh
Project Team : Suhela Kaur Maini, Sourabh Aggarwal

Plot Area : 73,224 sq. ft.

Plot Dimesions : 226’ X 324’
Built-up Area : 4,365 sq. ft.
Landscaped Area : 8,065 sq. ft.
No. of Rooms :4
No. of Cars :6
Timeline : Sep 2018 - Mar 2020

“The project engages with the multiple contexts of climate, landscape,

and materiality to create a spatial experience that is constantly
evolving and engaging. “
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The Site
The house is planned towards the southern end
of a 6,780 sq. m. plot. This allowed the building to
take advantage of the natural slope of the land, the
location of an existing tree, and a previously built
driveway on its eastern boundary. The project consists
of four structures that define its spatial character
(a circular guard room, a cuboidal pump room, and
two residential blocks). Each structure is made
predominantly of brick.
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The Pump Room

A cuboidal brick pump room is located in one corner
of the pool which along with the circular guardroom
serves as an architectural folly within the greater
landscape. By virtue of their prominent locations, the
structures introduce the project’s defining elements
while maintaining an identity that is unique to them.
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Ground Floor Plan Planning of spaces

The house is divided into two residential blocks, with a steel
trellis connecting the two. The project engages with the
multiple contexts of materiality and tectonic, sun and shadow,
to create a spatial experience that is constantly evolving and
engaging. The temporality associated with these shadows
along with those cast by the trellis and adjacent building blocks
creates a pattern on the wall that in response to the position of
the sun.
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Evaporative Cooling and Stack Effect

The degree of shade and type of shadow varies
on account of both the brickwork and the angle
of the sun, collectively they shade the wall and in
doing so contribute to the building’s passive cooling
strategies. Northwestern winds over the pool help in
the evaporative cooling of the building. Courtyards
help the passive air movement through the building
keeping temperatures comfortable in the summers.
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Courtyards
Within the house, a series of four courtyards allow for
a more intimate landscape expression and occupation
which along with a clerestory window in the kitchen
induces the “stack effect” and allows the hot air to
escape from the adjoining interior spaces. This further
helps to keep the building cool.
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Swimming Pool
A swimming pool is strategically located at the junction
of the two residential blocks and the overhead trellis.
It serves as a water reservoir for evaporative cooling
which is another one of the project’s passive cooling
design strategies
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Elevation - Block A
The pattern of the bricks evolves as the sun moves
both over the course of the day and of the year. The
graphic and abstract shadows cast by both the brick-
work and the trellis collectively create “a sense of
space and a sense of place.”
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Elevations - Block B
The brick patterns create an aesthetic that is dynamic
(dependant on the location of the sun and the shad-
ows it casts) as well as static (defined by the brick
coursing and the trellis).
THE BRICK HOUSE | RLDA ARCHITECTS
Brick Typologies - Type A
Distinct and varied brick coursing details
establish a series of wall typologies that define
the visual character of the project. The house’s
aesthetic is derived from a hand-crafted
tectonic that resulted from the relationship
between a basic brick module and the sun. A
series of brick projections that are denser at
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the bottom and more sparse as they rise is
organized as three equally spaced courses that
accentuate the verticality of the buildings and
distinguish between the ground plane and the
top of the building. Collectively they define the
formal language of the project’s elevations.
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Brick Typology - Type B Brick Typology - Type C

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Brick Typology - Type D Brick Typology - Type E

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Conclusion
The project draws on the craft and material
tradition of the region for its making and gives it an
ever-evolving contemporary expression.
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Unique Material Applications

Wall Finishes
01 / Exposed Brick
02 / Exposed brick with
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Windows: Metallon
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white paint
Tiles: K G Tiles, Pavers
Lighting:
Lighting Metador Luminaires
Sanitaryware: Jaquar
Bath Fittings: Jaquar
Hardware: Dorset
Ply, Veneer and Laminates: Merino
Mosaic: K G Tiles
Air Conditioning: Daikin

Key Contributors
Flooring Materials Structural
Structural: Jaitly Associates
03 / Wooden Flooring
04, 05, 06 / Vitrified Tiles 03 04 05
06 06 Landscape: Rahoul Singh

Photo Credits Suryandang,

Rahoul Singh

Metalwork 07
07 / Trellis in the Courtyard
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