This House Was Built in 2025. Its Best Ideas Are Centuries Old.

This house was completed in 2025, but some of its most important ideas are centuries old. At first glance, Antara residence looks completely contemporary. Two pitched roofs slope in different directions, the forms are clean and well-defined, and the exterior brings together concrete, clay roof tiles, wood and perforated screens. But behind that modern appearance, the house draws on building ideas that have been used in Kerala for generations, shade before the entrance, a courtyard at the center, roofs designed for heavy rain, and openings that let air move through without putting the interior fully on display. It does not try to look like an old house, it brings back what those houses already knew how to do. Antara residence is located in Kerala, in southern India, a region known for hot, humid weather and periods of intense rain. The experience begins before you even reach the front door. A covered porch provides shade and protection from the rain. Instead of moving directly from the street into an enclosed room, you pass through a cooler, sheltered transition space. Then comes the living room, followed by a small interior courtyard farther inside. The shape of the house comes from two pitched roofs meeting at different angles. One is covered in clay tiles and recalls the traditional roofs commonly seen in the region. The other has a more enclosed, contemporary form. Where they meet, the house rises to its highest point, creating the central space that brings together the living room, staircase, mezzanine, and movement between floors. The house reveals itself in layers, shade, living room, courtyard, staircase, and above it all, the open space connecting the two floors. The living room, dining area, and kitchen sit close to one another, but each still has its own clearly defined place. The living room opens into a double height space. That open volume brings the two floors closer together and allows the center of the house to be experienced from different levels. The courtyard is not hidden at the back of the house. It sits near the center, bringing daylight, plants, and moving air into the interior. It also creates a break between rooms, keeping the home from feeling like a simple row of enclosed spaces. The double height space also helps with ventilation. Cooler air enters through lower openings and the perforated screens. As it warms, it rises through the center of the house and escapes through openings near the highest part of the roof. Ventilation was not added later as a separate feature. It helped shape the way the spaces were arranged from the beginning. From the dining area, you can still see the courtyard, the staircase, and part of the upper floor. Along the exterior, perforated jolly screens help manage the house's relationship with both the street and the climate. Similar to breeze block walls, they allow daylight and air to pass through, while making it harder to see directly inside. This means the house does not have to choose between being completely open or completely closed. Daylight enters softly, air continues to move through, and the family keeps its privacy. These screens also cast shadows that change throughout the day. Instead of receiving the full intensity of the sun, the rooms are filled with softer light filtered through the small openings. Upstairs, a small home office sits on a mezzanine overlooking the living room. It provides enough separation for working or studying, while still staying visually connected to daily life below. From there, you can notice movement on the main floor, changes in daylight, and parts of the family's routine without sitting directly inside the social area. The courtyard brings air and daylight into the center. The open spaces connect the floors, and the upper opening helps release built-up heat. The pitched roofs also respond to Kerala's heavy rain. They move water away quickly and create protected areas along the exterior, without simply copying the shape of a traditional house. The architecture still feels current. Concrete creates the more solid forms. Clay tiles bring in a material that is familiar to the region. Wood appears indoors, furniture, partitions, and interior surfaces. Perforated brickwork creates filters between indoors and outdoors. In the end, Antara Residence is not a copy of an old Kerala home. It does not have a historic-looking facade, and it does not try to make a new building look like it belongs to the past. But it does have shade before the entrance, a courtyard at the center, roofs designed for the rain, filtering walls that protect daylight and privacy, and a path that allows warm air to rise and leave the house. Its appearance belongs to 2025, but some of its intelligence comes from long before air conditioning.