Regional Architecture Combines the Revival of Traditional Building Principles with High Energy Efficiency

Situated in the arid desert region of Nokha in Rajasthan, India, the Narsighar house designed by Sanjay Puri Architects, imbibes the traditional planning principles of the regional architecture prevalent for centuries in Rajasthan. The home based on the client's needs to accommodate 4 generations has 9 bedrooms with multifunctional living spaces, sheltered courtyards, and patios all around.

Photo credit: Vinay Panjwani

Photo credit: Vinay Panjwani

Photo credit: Vinay Panjwani

Most of the houses and palaces built in this region for centuries had courtyards for passive cooling, thick stone walls to combat the excessive heat and stone ‘jali’ screens to mitigate heat gain. The Narsighar house is punctuated with a series of courtyards and is built in the local sandstone available in the immediate vicinity. Each of the living spaces opens into sheltered outdoor spaces screened with perforated stone panels. These screens, in addition to reducing heat gain, also protect the inner spaces from the sandstorms prevalent in the region.

Photo credit: Vinay Panjwani

Photo credit: Vinay Panjwani

Photo credit: Vinay Panjwani

In addition to the traditional planning principles, elements of traditional Rajasthan architecture, including multifoil arched windows, patterned stone screens, stone pergolas, inlay work, and carving work, accentuate the spaces. In India, Rajasthan is home to many craftsmen with specialties in stone carving, marble inlay, carpentry work, mirror work inlay, lime plastering, and more. The entire house was executed and worked upon by these local craftsmen, reviving many traditional techniques.

Photo credit: Vinay Panjwani

Photo credit: Vinay Panjwani

Photo credit: Vinay Panjwani

Although the house appears large, over 40% of the area is in the form of open courtyards, circulation spaces, and sheltered outdoor patios. Each volume is articulated individually, with the home being perceived as a composition of varying volumes.

Photo credit: Vinay Panjwani

Photo credit: Vinay Panjwani

Photo credit: Vinay Panjwani

An entry car porch opens into a sunlit courtyard that leads to a sheltered stone arcade, flanked by water troughs and gardens for passive cooling before one enters the house. The skylit entrance lobby within the house, flanked by a living room and an open seating area, leads one into a large central courtyard. The main courtyard punctuating the house is naturally ventilated through clear storey windows with the circulation skirting its perimeter. Sectionally, there is a flow of different volumes within. Most of the rooms are 4m high, with the main living room at 6.5m high, the central courtyard to 12m high, the north and south courtyards 8m high, and the outdoor patios 3.6m high. Every living space and bedroom in the house opens into sheltered outdoor spaces, creating transitional volumes between the inside and the outside to mitigate heat gain. Indirect sunlight permeates all the spaces, filtered through arches or stone screens that create different shadow patterns throughout the day.

Photo credit: Vinay Panjwani

Photo credit: Vinay Panjwani

Photo credit: Vinay Panjwani

This house was designed with traditional principles and materials for passive cooling, with contract labor from the nearby villages, stone obtained from the vicinity, craftsmen from the region, and all materials sourced locally. The marble, stone, wood, lime plaster, and furniture were all procured from Rajasthan. Designed contextual to the climate, location, and heritage of the region, Narsighar revives Indian traditional planning principles and revives traditional crafts, creating an energy-efficient home built to last for centuries, and for future generations.

Sanjay Puri Architects

Sanjay Puri Architects have been listed in Archdaily’s list of Top 100 architects worldwide, the WA UK top 100 architectural firms, and the Architizer New York’s top130 architecture firms in the world.

With wins for the CDA 2023 Paris Best Residential Project Worldwide, The LOOP Design Awards Best Large architectural firm, The Best Completed Building – Production Energy & Logistics in the World Architecture Festival, Singapore 2023, The Best Housing Project Worldwide in the World Architecture Festival, Lisbon 2022, and The LEAF Awards London, Best interior project 2021, the firm has won over 450 awards, including 300 International design awards.