Residential | Workers Of Art

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A 3500 Sq ft Duplex designed as a tropical paradise for a young couple, occupying the 12th and 13th floors of a new apartment complex in Calicut city. The project is named as "Gardens in the Sky", with an aesthetic that is earthy, natural, aged and casual, this tropical heaven is complete with indigenous species of plants and vines, Amur carps skimming the shallow pond and the occasional birds and bees that visit the space. The home proposes an atemporal, fresh and peaceful atmosphere while including a playful twist in the form of a red-statement-staircase, which becomes the home's centerpiece.

Designed as a home for a young couple in Calicut, Kerala. We conceptualized an intimate space for their client that could adapt to their changing requirements and accommodate their friends at the same time.
Aptly named 'Gardens in the Sky,' the apartment is dotted with a garden on its periphery and overlooks the continuous skyline.

We planned the space to be one with the outdoors, a tropical zen sanctuary on the 12th and 13th floors of a newly completed building. To develop the existing look, certain structural changes were executed. For instance, by removing superfluous elements, the ground floor was converted to an oven living and entertainment area that is connected to the
garden.

The floor slab on the 13th floor was cut and beams holding the floor were removed and replaced by steel girders which are hidden under the bridge connecting the two rooms on top.
Using a stunning interpretation of colours, like the red staircase leading to the monochromatic first floor, has brought the most intricate design details of the space to the fore.

"Essentially, a delight to the eye and to live in, the entire space has evolved as a mystical synthesis of the natural environment and modern outlook of the couple, thus making the home susceptible to future change and use.

An ode to opposites in architecture —

The creative minds at Workers of Art have brought a captivating narrative to life with their recent project, "The Oxide Brass Love Story". This ingenious architectural endeavour is set in Cochin, Kerala, weaving a tale of contrasts within the refurbished structure of an ancient "naalu kettu" house. Our project adopts the unique persona of its owner - a man at the zenith of his life, seeking a space that reflects both his grandeur and his appreciation for the authentic.
With "The Oxide Brass Love Story", we've skilfully paired the rugged charm of Oxide with the sophisticated sheen of Brass. These hero materials embody the client's life narrative - his hard-earned success manifested in the refined luxury of brass, and his enduring roots expressed through the raw, untamed oxide. This thoughtful interpretation of materials as characters allows them to coexist harmoniously, creating a stunning testament to the beauty of contrast.
Reinventing the interiors, we added modern, edgy elements that enhance functionality without sacrificing the aesthetics, guided by our client's penchant for hosting and communal gatherings. The design introduces an open floor plan - a mélange of living spaces and a dedicated bar cum dining area that morphs as per the occasion. The four bedrooms have been designed with an eye for luxury and coziness. The semi-helical staircase gently transitions visitors from the ground floor's intriguing material palette to the airy, naturally lit spaces of the first floor.
Throughout the house, natural light is a strategic ally, delicately interacting with the varied material textures to create a symphony of light and shade. The layered green walls ensure privacy while allowing for filtered light, respecting the essence of the original "naalu kettu" design. The interplay of oxide and brass with charred timber and stone adds depth to the narrative, a visual and tactile experience that narrates a story of opulence born from authenticity.
In the heart of Kerala, "The Oxide Brass Love Story" stands as a beacon of the power of opposites - a luxurious abode that combines the raw and the refined, celebrating life's journey and victories. This project is not just a construction of walls and roofs; it's a beautifully rendered story of contrasts in materials, much like the yin-yang of life itself.
The Dance of Dichotomy: Exploring Layering of Materiality in Architecture —
Materiality, in our project, wasn't just a component, but a prime actor in the design drama of "The Oxide Brass Love Story". Guided by the rich, artisanal charm of handcrafted elements and a sprinkle of extravagant elegance, we curated a palette that balanced the rustic appeal of cement oxide with the refined elegance of brass. The narrative of this project was expressed in the language of these materials, harmoniously woven into the architectural tapestry.
Our choice of 8x4" matte finish nexion tiles for the flooring echoes the texture of the cement oxide walls. Taking a page out of vernacular architecture, where the skirting is usually done as a high skirting detail. Rising to form a high skirting, they further accentuate the depth and texture brought by the cement oxide walls of the ground floor. Against this backdrop of textured grey, the green walls stand out like vibrant paintings, buffering the home from the bustling neighbourhood while enhancing its introverted nature.
The tale of brass unfolds subtly yet significantly throughout the space. Its most grandiose manifestation is in the heart of the home – the low seating area at the "naalu kettu". A brass light screen warmly welcomes visitors to the home, with thin, brushed-finish poles integrated with soft, warm lighting. This central element acts as an art installation, forming intriguing shadows while cocooning the space, and providing visual privacy for the upper levels.
Echoing a youthful, modern bachelor pad, the aesthetic of this home serves as a poetic nod to an older couple re-discovering life as a duo after their children have flown the nest. Anchored in a color palette of grey and burnished or faded gold, the hues in different rooms add depth to this narrative. The master bedroom sports a complementary rust orange, while the guest room bathes in a blend of pearl green and blue. The upper floors are washed in white and grey with gold accents, incorporated through wall mouldings, brass mirror detailing, and bedroom elements. In our exploration of materiality, we've also experimented with color blocking in the upper bedrooms – an elegant combination of pink and grey with brass headboard accents. The bathrooms wear a minimalist design with matte black fittings, featuring marble effect tiles and fixtures from FIMA
Carlo Frattini, whose design ideology aligns beautifully with our celebration of modern elegance and artisanal material quality.
In "The Oxide Brass Love Story", layering of materiality takes centre stage. We've pushed the envelope in our exploration, combining cement oxides, matte and glossy tiles, metallic elements through brass, and a spectrum of complementary colours expressed through paint and fabrics. This meticulous, layered approach results in a harmonious blend that celebrates the dichotomy of materials, painting a vibrant picture of materiality as a vital character in the architectural narrative.
The Harmonious Symmetry of Spaces: Weaving a Love Story
The use of materials in architectural spaces can significantly influence the character and ambiance of the area, and in "The Oxide Brass Love Story", it is the heart of the design narrative. The project reimagines the traditional "naalu kettu" core as a modern epicentre , transforming it into a low seating area that serves as the family's communal cocoon. The interplay between the raw oxide and the elegant brass takes centre stage here, culminating in a composition that evokes both comfort and grandeur.
Upon entering the home, visitors are immediately greeted by this central area, with a light screen that doubles as an art installation and provides visual privacy. The brass and oxide combination dominates here, establishing the project's thematic essence, that is the "Love Story". This core area acts as a spatial buffer, flanked on one side by a formal living area and an informal living space on the other, fostering a seamless transition between contrasting functions.
The formal living area, adjacent to the central core, extends into a dining space, ideal for hosting dinners and social gatherings. Further extending into a bar counter and a green wall, this expansive space embodies the project's narrative of sociability and hospitality. The left zones house the guest room and the kitchen, facilitating smooth service during formal gatherings.
The informal living area, on the other side of the core, provides a more relaxed setting. A lounge seater, an L-shaped sofa, and a TV provision make this area perfect for family leisure time, while large sliding doors connect this area to an outdoor deck. Surrounded by two-meter high green walls, this area also pays tribute to the project's commitment to privacy.
This theme of introversion is further reinforced by the green walls flanking the house, forming a natural buffer from neighbouring properties. They create a soothing backdrop to the home while emphasising the beautiful interplay of brass and oxide within.
The open powder room extends from the dining area, featuring two open wash counters that allow conversations to flow during quick touch-ups.
A notable transformation in the project was the old dog-legged staircase, reimagined as a semi-helical stair finished in cement oxide. The new design not only provided extra space and headroom for the downstairs toilet but also created a welcoming reception area for transitioning from the master bedroom to the more public areas of the home. Illuminated by the glow of a decorative hanging light, the double-height wall of the staircase finished in cement oxide paints a magnificent picture of the project's layered materiality. In the grand narrative of "The Love Story", each space contributes to the harmonious dialogue between brass and oxide, creating a symphony of materials that comes together in a composition as grand as it is cozy.
Reviving Tradition through Modern Materiality: A Design Process in Harmony with Heritage —
In our project, “The Oxide Brass Love Story,” we aimed to re conceptualise the traditional “naalu kettu” home while staying true to its core principles. One of the inherent challenges in retaining the essence of a central core – a quintessential feature of the “naalu kettu” design – was to create a space that felt warm and intimate for two occupants, but also expansive enough to accommodate gatherings.
To strike this balance, we introduced a light screen to the central core. This element subtly cocoons the space, serving as the home's beacon and demarcating different zones without resorting to divisive walls. The light screen doesn’t just structure the space but infuses it with an ambient glow, creating an inviting ambiance. The incorporation of our hero materials, brass and cement oxide, is most prominent here. Brushed brass poles construct the screen, while the pillars, seating, and flooring celebrate the earthy allure of cement oxide.
To ensure an open floor plan, walls around this area were knocked down to establish a seamless visual connection. The existing staircase was restructured into a helical form not just for its aesthetic appeal but also to facilitate spatial quality and increase headroom for the bathroom area below. We faced another challenge in the form of the site's location within a gated community, where houses are closely packed. To maintain privacy, we adapted to the constraints of the plot, creating an introverted design that embraced green walls as natural buffers. This allowed us to respect the spatial boundaries while adding an aesthetic layer to the home.
The final outcome of this intricate design process was a modern and urban interpretation of a “naalu kettu” home where materiality is at the forefront. We successfully intertwined the traditional ethos of the Kerala vernacular architecture with contemporary aesthetics, evoking a beautiful love story of brass and oxide, an ode to the timeless allure of authentic design.

Perched at a height of around 110 ft off the ground, this 5000 sq ft home is designed as an interpretation and embodiment of a memory from nameless places stumbled upon during the clients travels across the Italian country side as a boy. Influenced by his explicit narration of the architectural details bookmarked in his memory along with the need to form strong connections with the context —the backwaters , the landscape and greenery beyond, this home is an exemplification of how Dreamscapes can be turned into a design narrative: the ‘story’ of the project. Surrounded by unending views overlooking the backwaters and the fishing village of Kumbalangi beyond, this home aspires to leave a positive memory in people’s minds —a feeling of calm comfort, endurance, being welcome and maybe an interest to explore the space

Floors are set up in Travertine marble throughout for a seamless and coherent appeal. And
in Some areas the floors and walls are treated the same to blur the changing planes making the space look larger and continuous rather than constrained by walls. Use of Colours and textures that invites the environment into the interiors which is otherwise just a view or a backdrop, making the space feel like a continuation of the landscape surrounding and beyond to such an extent that it stops existing as two, making the space feel like it’s a part of a much bigger story.
In order to make these purposes palpable, a soothing colour palette swatched from the landscape takes over the walls, ceilings and floors. This combination of tones and materials creates a natural and pleasant environment; Materiality assumes a leading role to help meet these premises

Combinations of materiality, light and colour alter as the user walks from one end to another, shaping different experiences while transitioning through the wall-layering. In Some areas the floors and walls are treated the same to blur the changing planes making the space look larger and continuous rather than constrained by walls, and in some areas the walls are cladded with metal to reflect off cues of the surrounding landscape, throwing back and changing tone as the day progresses. Throughout the design phase, the team was heavily influenced by the unending views surrounding the site, this is reflected through the complex material and colour palette manifested. Colours and textures that invites the environment into the interiors which is otherwise just a view or a backdrop, making the space feel like a continuation of the landscape surrounding and beyond to such an extent that it stops existing as two

Located within a gated community that retains a school within, the brief revolved entirely on the lives of the kids and how they would coexist as a family.

The house initially meant to be for the kids to grow up in and how the function of each space could potentially change as they grew up. Built on just 5cents of land, with a brief that focused heavily on functionality, the idea was to use up every inch of the plot and make it a usable space.

The team focused on reinventing the conventional interiors by completely transforming the idea of how the different spaces can be used during different times of the day and find ways to maximise the limited building footprint available and allow for seamless connection with the outdoors, improved ventilation and natural lighting throughout the spaces.The clients wanted a lifestyle upgrade with this new home, a place where they could entertain their guests, a place where all their neighbours and the neighbours kids felt welcomed, safe and comfortable, a place where they spend a lot of time as a young family, but each individual had personal space when needed. This called for a home with different layers of privacy in order to accommodate all these needs. And the challenge was to solve that when there are houses so close to each other, this being within a gated community were the houses were stacked together.

Our team at WOA worked closely with the clients to understand how to reimagine the way they wanted to live and envision how the spaces will be used by each member of the family in various scenarios. A restrained elegant and robust material palette was carefully crafted to create a sense of timelessness and calm in a home that is often overrun with young children. A home that evokes a sense of calm that fits their lifestyle amidst all the chaos.

The interiors were designed aiming not only to create elegant and robust spaces, it also accommodated the service and storage requirements of the home so that clutter could be minimised and maximum utilisation of the spaces could be attained.

The textural tactile qualities of oxide in soft greys, stained light wood carpentry and the use of cane furniture with bright pops of colour adds to the playfulness and creates a pleasant environment with a sense of warmth and enduring character. All the mill work, carpentry and framing details in the house were designed by the architects. The dark staining of the wood was achieved using organic dyes and through a process of trial and error to arrive at the perfect material and colour pallet that adds to the vibe and calming energy of the spaces.

The houses distinctive form is rooted from the need for privacy in various levels. In front the porch and sit out acts as a place of arrival created by a sieve of green plants and a series of mild steel frames that adds level privacy which makes meeting and greeting a more personal affair. The programmatic allocation developed from a simple segregation of private and social areas by understanding the clients needs and carefully curating the spaces inside.

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