- Project: Float-en-Fold House
- Architect: architecture.SEED
- Location: India, Thrissur
- Year: 2023
- Area: 340 m2
- Photography: Link Studio, Running Studios
Float-en-Fold House by architecture.SEED in Thrissur, Kerala, is a contemporary residence that redefines the relationship between architecture, nature, and climate. Designed for a family of five, the house embraces transparency, interconnectedness, and adaptability. With its floating volumes, playful light, and climate-sensitive planning, the home is both a functional family dwelling and a striking architectural statement.
Project Overview
The south-facing plot in Punnayurkulam posed significant challenges, including its trapped location between existing houses and the dedication of a large portion of land to a shared access road. Instead of treating these as obstacles, architecture.SEED turned constraints into opportunities.
The house unfolds through a 3-axis entry concept, removing compound walls and establishing a welcoming shared path shaded by a tree. This approach gradually reveals the residence, creating intrigue and a layered sequence of discovery. A strategically placed water body, skylit courtyard, and carefully positioned openings ensure cross-ventilation, natural cooling, and visual connectivity throughout.
Design Concept: Float, Fold & Transparency
The architectural vision is encapsulated in the home’s name — Float-en-Fold. The design integrates floating and enfolding elements, giving the impression of volumes lightly resting within the landscape. Uneven volumes, split levels, and double heights create spatial drama while ensuring functional efficiency.
The 4-bay planning system defines spaces according to privacy:
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Public: Sit-out, foyer, guest room
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Semi-public: Living and dining spaces
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Semi-private: Play areas and family zones
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Private: Bedrooms and kitchen
This strategy ensures that despite the open plan and interconnections, each area maintains the intimacy required for family life.
Spatial Experience & Layout
Ground Floor
The ground floor includes a master bedroom, guest bedroom, open living and dining areas, and a kitchen. The heart of the house is a sky-lit courtyard that connects spaces visually and physically, enhancing natural ventilation and daylight.
Upper Levels
The staircase, designed as both circulation and sculptural feature, connects the split levels. The floating upper floor hosts a family lounge, a small study, and bedrooms with deep balconies, offering retreat-like privacy. Inside-looking windows and voids ensure visual connection across levels, keeping the family connected even in different spaces.
Materiality & Details
Material choices highlight both function and aesthetics:
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Beige flooring balanced with black granite (flamed and leathered)
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White walls paired with teak wood frames for warmth
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Grey walls and Eta gold stone cladding for texture
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Exteriors defined by grey tandoor stone and tropical landscaping
This material palette emphasizes contrast while creating a cohesive, layered visual language. Natural light animates the interiors, while the stone cladding and overhangs enhance durability and climate responsiveness.
Climatic Adaptation
The design is deeply responsive to Kerala’s humid tropical climate:
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Floating pavilion sit-out and car porch with greenery to soften southern light
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Overhangs and pergolas to protect from rain and heat
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Stone cladding and shading devices to minimize western heat gain
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Courtyards and water features that enhance cross-ventilation and microclimate
This integration of form and climate reflects the “Form Follows Function” principle, ensuring the house is both beautiful and sustainable.
Float-en-Fold House by architecture.SEED demonstrates how architecture can thrive within site constraints to create a home that is light, open, and deeply connected to its environment. With floating planes, adaptive planning, and a seamless blend of form and function, the residence exemplifies contemporary design rooted in Kerala’s climate and lifestyle.
This is more than a family home — it is a living example of how architecture can fold into the landscape while floating above it, balancing intimacy, openness, and sustainability.
