When a roof became an amphitheatre

 

Photos: Drone view of the Nisarga Art Hub; a concert taking place; the skylight; Vishnudev KS and Lakshmi V; the cantilever studio; Vinu Daniel and his co-designer Oshin Mariam Varughese

Carnatic singer couple Vishnudev KS and Lakshmi V wanted a mud home at their home in Karukutty, Kerala. When noted architect Vinu Daniel and his team built Nisarga Art Hub, it became a centre for the arts thanks to its unique design

By Shevlin Sebastian

Vishnudev KS and his wife Lakshmi V are Carnatic singers. They were based in Chennai during the pandemic. Because of a newborn baby, they found it difficult to manage. They also wanted to build a home. So they returned to Vishnudev’s ancestral place of Karukutty (46 kms from Kochi).

Vishnudev had inherited a large plot of land from his father. Just opposite the plot, there are paddy fields.

“In Chennai, we cannot dream of building a large custom-built house,” said Vishnudev. “It was important for us that the house become part of the natural environment. So we wanted to build a mud house.”

So they Googled for architects who deal with mud as a material for construction. And that was when they stumbled on the works of architect Vinu Daniel, who was in the 100 Next list of influential leaders of Time Magazine in 2023. And they immediately found it impressive because of its innovative elements.

“Vinu has an experimental mindset,” said Vishnudev. “We could not believe there could be so much innovation for a mud house.” So, they called Vinu up.

Vinu and his co-designer Oshin Mariam Varughese came and looked at the plot in July 2020. And they liked what they saw.

“I sensed a wonderful possibility,” said Vinu. “I knew we should incorporate the rural concept inside the building. That is why we used traditional mud architecture.”

Also, because there were no trees around, Vinu wanted to give a camouflaged appearance. While the roof comprised traditional terracotta tiles, beneath it they used poly-jute cloth all across the ceiling.

And from one end of the main hall to the other end, there is a wire mesh. This enables people to be in touch with nature outside. On some days, a steady breeze blew in. “If I put glass panes, it would have heated the hall,” said Vinu.

The architect said that temperatures were rising in Kerala. Before 2000, there were only about ten days of 40 degrees Celsius. But today, there are over 100 days of these temperatures. “Now, with many new national highways being built, and rapid urbanisation, trees are being cut at an alarming rate,” said Vinu. “So we have less forest cover.”

The construction began in 2020. What was most stunning were the walls. These are made of mud and other materials. When you place your palm on it, it feels cool.

In 2014, Vinu realised that working with mud only would not make sturdy walls.

He had a brainwave. Vinu decided to use the construction material that lies strewn about on vacant plots. He used cement, soil, inorganic waste material and even coconut shells and mixed it with the mud. His invention is called the Shuttered Debris Wall Technique. It strengthened the mud walls.

In Nisarga, in the bedrooms, the walls rise to a height of 25-27 feet. “The walls are load-bearing,” said Vinu. “Two walls in the hall have taken the load off a jutting-out cantilever studio.”

Helping Vinu were his colleagues Subhrodipta Ghosh, and Rosh V Saji.

Vishnudev told Vinu that as musicians, they needed a lot of space to perform and teach. “When somebody comes to the house, they should feel that this is a house built for musicians,” said Vishnudev. Hence, the hall, with an area of 2200 sq. ft. has no furniture. You sit on the floor. There is an open kitchen on one side. And doors leading to bedrooms and a bathroom.

When Vishnudev and Lakshmi asked for more space to hold concerts outside their house, Vinu measured the angle of the roof. It turned out to be 35 degrees. This matched the 30-degree angle of an amphitheatre.

So, Vinu came up with the idea of using the roof like an amphitheatre. On the gutter of one side of the roof, Vinu had already planned to make an elongated swimming pool. He felt he could cover a part of the pool with wooden slabs and set up a stage. Then, at different levels of the roof, he removed the tiles and made glass seats. There are 34 seats. The top seat is at the height of a two-storey building.

The images of the roof went viral on social media. There were over 9 million views on Instagram and YouTube. It helped Nisarga to establish itself as an art hub. Incidentally, Nisarga is a Sanskrit word. It means a natural state.

“Whenever somebody comes here, they can be themselves,” said Vishnudev. “An artist can express his truest self.”

The couple received a lot of media coverage. Many well-known artists have now performed at the hub. Artists from all over the world have asked Vishnudev whether they could come and perform.

As Vinu said, “The initial idea was to make a residence for a musician-couple. Now, thanks to its fame, it is most probably going to be a residency for artists.”

Vishnudev agreed. He plans to add a building outside with rooms so that when artists come, they will have a place to stay.

The couple began living in the hub in September 2023. At that time, leading artist Niloy Ahsan inaugurated the hub with a Dhrupad recital.

(An edited version was published in The Sunday Magazine, The New Indian Express, South India and Delhi)