Brick House in Whitefield, India by CollectiveProject.

Bangalore-based architects CollectiveProject have completed a Brick House in Whitefield, an area of India that was open farmland up until 15 years ago. The 427sqm residence aims to serve as a quiet retreat for a family of five in an otherwise densely populated community with a lack or urban planning.

Constructed on the foundation of a pre-existing small brick house that the family had outgrown, the new design builds off an existing palette and angled plinth. Open and interconnected spaces challenge the stereotypical assumptions of load-bearing brick construction, with perforated and protruding sections of brick wall adding textural diversity to the otherwise solid material.

The entire structure is made with hand-moulded table bricks with natural variations in colour and form, celebrating the imperfections of the material and the slightly uneven manner in which they are laid. The tension between traditional building methods and contemporary geometry is softened by the introduction of porous jaali screens, creating contrasting shadow and patterns from the partial brick projections.

A small triangular courtyard at the centre of the home serves as a reminder of the original farmland foundation and history of the site. The boundary between indoors and out is blurred, and a visual connection is created between the public and private spaces.

See other projects that use bricks on Yellowtrace here.

[Images courtesy of CollectiveProject. Photography by Ben Hosking.]