Contemporary house of stacked white and timber volumes with deep balconies

01Modern Residential Architecture

The Courtyard Residence

Design Study

Category: Modern Residential Architecture
Project Type: Independent house
Design Style: Contemporary, climate-responsive
Design Scope: Concept planning, exterior and interior design direction

Project Overview

The Courtyard Residence asks how a house on a tight plot, with neighbours on three sides, can feel open without giving up privacy. The answer it explores is an old one in North India: turn the house inward. Instead of relying on windows that look at the neighbours, the rooms take their light and air from a sequence of private courtyards.

Design Details

01Private courts bring light and air into the middle of the plan
02A solid street wall gives way to a glazed, garden-facing interior
03Level thresholds connect rooms directly to planted outdoor space

The Design Challenge

This study imagines a multi-generational family who want quiet rooms, shared gathering space and a garden they can use every day.

A strong sense of privacy from the street and neighbouring buildings
Daylight in every main room, including those in the middle of the plot
A ground-floor bedroom for older family members, close to shared spaces
Outdoor space that works as part of daily life, not only for occasions

Design Concept

A solid, timber-clad outer wall protects the plot, while a glazed inner face opens onto the courts. Arriving from the street is a gradual movement from compressed to open: a low, shaded entry, then a sudden view into the green of the main court. The house reads as quiet from outside and generous from within.

Timber stair with a white balustrade rising from a bright living room

Space Planning Approach

Living, dining and kitchen wrap around the main court so that each looks across the planted space toward the others. Bedrooms sit on the quieter edges, each with its own small light court to allow cross-ventilation without opening onto a public side. Service spaces and the stair form a thicker band along the hottest wall, where they act as a buffer against the afternoon sun.

Rooms wrap around a central court, with a thicker service band along the hottest edge. Schematic diagram, not to scale.

Interior Design Approach

Inside, the courtyard is treated as the room’s main feature, so interiors stay calm: pale plaster, timber ceilings and floors that continue from inside to outside at the same level. Fixed seating along the glazing turns the edge between room and court into a place to sit.

Exterior Design Approach

The street elevation is deliberately restrained, with vertical timber battens over a solid wall that filter views and shade the openings behind them. Deep overhangs protect the glazing along the courts, allowing doors to stay open through more of the year.

Material & Finish Direction

Vertical timber battensStreet screen and entry
Lime plasterWalls, inside and out
Kota stoneContinuous floors and court paving
Exposed brickCourtyard feature walls
Dark anodised aluminiumGlazing frames

Lighting Approach

Daylight does most of the work. The courts bring soft, indirect light into the depth of the plan, while high clerestory strips wash the ceilings. In the evening, low-level lights along the planting make the courts visible from inside, so the glass does not turn into a dark mirror after sunset.

Layout Considerations

Cross-ventilation across each court reduces reliance on air-conditioning in milder months
Level thresholds keep the ground floor comfortable for older family members
Court drainage and planting beds are planned for heavy monsoon rain
Sliding screens let each room be opened or closed according to the season

3D Visualization & Rendering

A 3D study of this study would test how far daylight reaches at different times of year, and how the view through the main court changes while walking through the house.