ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN -

II
SECONDARY CASE
STUDY RESIDENC
E

Neeraj Kumar. P 520219018

Ruby’s Cube
Srijit Srinivas -
DESIGNED
2018

COMPLETED
2020

TECHNICAL DATA
Ground Floor Area - 83 sq.m.
First Floor Area - 70 sq.m.
Total Floor Area - 153 sq.m.
Plot Area - 121 sq.m.

PROJECT TEAM
Srijit Srinivas – ARCHITECTS

MANUFACTURERS
Kohler, Decowood, Red Cotton
by Geosam, Trojan, Tulip &
Hybec
Text description provided by the architects. The
clients - Dr. Ruby Abraham a Civil Engineer
and Principal of a leading Engineering College
in Trivandrum, and her husband Mr. Raju A.J.
an Advocate, desired a distinctive look for their
second home on a small, three cent (i.e. 121
m2) plot of land in a crowded residential part of
Trivandrum city.
The resultant overall composition
eponymously titled ‘Ruby’s Cube’,
took the form of a platonic cube
augmented by a slight truncation of
one top corner. Given the tightness of
the site, set in a busy and cluttered
neighbourhood with a paucity of good
vistas, the design opted to rather focus
inwards, and create a cloistered ‘oasis
of tranquillity’ in the midst of chaotic
surroundings. The tight programming
methodology employed for the Entry
Foyer, Living Room, Staircase, Dining,
and Kitchen, expressed itself in a
seamless design-flow forming a near
contiguous space but with nuanced
articulation
The Master Bedroom opens out to a courtyard at the rear and
abutting the property’s boundary wall, allowing for free entry
and passage of light and breezes. It incorporates safety grills
built from rebars, affording a soft visual touch to what is
typically an obtrusive safety feature. The en-suite wet areas
are also similarly extended out into an enclosed landscaped
court.
The Bed Room located on the first floor
towards the front has a balcony has louvers
which ensure privacy while bringing in
cooling breezes. The visual effect in these
rooms is also a striking feature.
A cement finish scheme was used for all walls of the house,
while the ceiling was painted white. Natural terracotta floor tiles
were then used to give a warm yet subtle contrast to the walls
and ceiling. Overall a minimalist scheme was used for the
furniture, with some being designed and others externally
sourced.

The Living Room located on the first floor offers good views
downstairs to the Living Room on the ground floor living room
and intervening stairwell. The design has allowed for a home
theatre room at the rear side, for subsequent execution in the
future.
The front façade features terracotta jali work under-girded by
metal-framed glazing, to create visual interest.
The ensemble is further ‘tied together’ by the double-
height volume above the Living Room and Staircase,
enduing a sense of vastness and uplift to this central
zone of the building. Custom designed sets of
louvres are used on external walls to allow for
continuous airflow and cross ventilation through the
inside of the house. The Dining Room – with its
signature modernist boxy ‘chandeliers’, opens out to
an enclosed landscaped courtyard. The openness in
planning, the use of big joinery openings and the
care taken in spatial planning endows the interior
areas with a spacious feel. The stairs were treated
with cement plaster finish, with a minimalist design
deployed for the handrails using simple in GI tubes
painted black. A recessed alcove space was created
underneath the stairs to house a writing nook. The
centre of the stairs has space for an internal ‘micro
garden’.