The upcoming project of sister villas, The Terracotta House and the Indigo House are taking shape on-site. Set in the Pomburpa Village in Goa, the houses are designed to connect with the land with an ecological design, enjoyed barefoot with the calm interactions of nature. To experience the outcome's look and feel, here’s our material palette.

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The selection and finalization of materials is an important and lengthy design process. Colors and textures define the space. The feel and the vibe we experience are a product of it. Terracotta house is earthy and serene with warm tones, harmonizing the interiors and exterior. Indigo House is calm with quiet views of water, and tones of blue merging with the view.

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In celebration of World Earth Day 2024, we wanted to share our journey of building a small house in Goa using rammed earth construction. We've divided our experience into three parts:

PART 1: the project's inception,

PART 2: the challenges we encountered, and finally,

PART 3: the successful execution of our first rammed earth wall on-site.

Our story begins with the start of the project and a hands-on workshop on Rammed Earth led by Gia Mantra Village. Sanjeev Wahi the COO of Grounded attended this workshop.

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Following this, we delved into research and development specific to our site living in Goa, conducting tests, and facing various challenges along the way.

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Through our dedication and with assistance from Thumb Impressions, we overcame these obstacles and successfully completed the first wall of the house.

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From researching and trying out different mixes to solving real-life challenges with the walls, we've come a long way. Building rammed earth walls depends a lot on the specific site and many factors need to be taken into account. We've successfully built these walls at our site and want to share our experience to help others interested in rammed earth construction find all the information they need in one place. You can find more about our journey on our Instagram. If you have any questions, feel free to send us a direct message.

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Sakshi R Ghodake

“When we reconnect with nature, we will be able to restore ourselves.”
― Lailah Gifty Akita

Kishan Bagh, Jaipur

Jaipur has been touched upon by Architect Pradip Kishan and his team to ornament the existing gift of nature which Kishan Bagh holds. He had a great vision of how the park should be designed well enough to convey the importance of restoring and conserving our ecosystem. Having worked on Rao Jodha Rock Park in Jodhpur, Pradip Kishan took on the mammoth task of restoring Kishan Bagh dunes into a natural desert landscape.

Kishan Bagh

Scenic view from the park.

The design proposes restoring the vegetation of sand dunes, designing a place for people to understand the ecology and bringing the endangered plant community of the Thar to be conserved.

Heteropogon Spa (grass)

Rohida

Saccharum

Akara

Kumatha acacia sengal

Phragmites Australis

The design is influenced by the explorations of the desert landscape of western Rajasthan, called Roee by the locals, also seen in the jungles of Thar with different plant communities which have evolved in that particular changing climatic condition. Hence, native flora like Saccharum, Rohida, Kumatha acacia sengal, Akada, Dhatura, and Phragmites Australis have been planted according to the different soil textures where each contributes to the ecosystem in the desert.

Distinct color layers of sandstone due to the presence of different minerals.

Migmatites – double-cooked stones, consisting of two or more constituents often layered repetitively

According to Pradip Kishan parks have always been remembered in colonial style, while they should ideally be reminisced based on the native nature of the plants and surrounding. Parks have now become sanitized spaces and the trees which are featured are grown for their colourful blossoms which will eventually last for a certain period that add an aesthetic charm in landscape and does not talk about the habitat. This clearly says that the idea of beauty should change.

Sand dune desert park

The Grounded team had visited Rao Jodha Park in Jodhpur which is also an ecology restoration project led by Pradip Krishan. Read about it here. From this we have understood that experience stands out based on the interpretation which is based on telling the story of a landscape and the wildlife that it supports. Here at Grounded, we are making an effort to sensitize the urban and rural populations to the wild through our designs.

Watch more about Kishan Bagh, here.

Images sourced from Anupama Kundoo

Wall House in Auroville is an experimental house designed by sustainability champion Anupama Kundoo. The architecture employs a play in proportions to create comfortable yet dramatic spatial envelopes. The house is built entirely with locally sourced materials in new, innovative ways to create soothing, earthy spaces that respond to the warm, humid climate.

Wall House is predominantly constructed with the vernacular ‘Achukkal’ brick, once ubiquitous to the building landscape in Tamil Nadu. Known for their unique flat, thin profiles and their distinctive red colour, Achukkal bricks are typically made out of left-over silt that is collected from farmlands around. They are then shaped by hand and fired in clay ovens for strength and stability. The bricks are deemed to be extremely sustainable, given their long life, low cost of production, and the sparing amounts of energy use for manufacturing.

The earthy palette and warm finishes move beyond the brick walls and are found throughout the house. The august clay pot vault above the double-height living space and the innovative filler slab roof above the dining area are particularly worthy of mention.

Each facade of Wall House sports unique fenestrations that bring in fresh air and ample daylight. On one side, a series of louvered windows built out of local mango wood and completed with unpolished granite stone come into sight. On the other side, a series of pivoting ferrocement screens open the house to the verdant landscape around when open, and bring beautiful light and shadow patterns indoors when closed.

The House with Three Pavilions is a sustainable house in Goa, designed and developed by GROUNDED.

The house explores the intimate relationship between the land, its people, water, and the biodiversity that exists in Goa in India. It is designed as a cluster of three pavilions that gently weave around existing trees in an attempt to coexist with nature and to minimize the impact of new construction on virgin land.  

The architecture of the house takes inspiration from the surrounding Goan village houses. Mostly constructed as ground-floor structures, each pavilion attempts to match the volumetrics of its village peers. Throughout, a simple sweeping roof form is used in red terracotta tile that is ubiquitous to the Goan village built-landscape. Proportions are borrowed from doors, windows, and plaster bands of vernacular Goan structures even as a distinct contemporary style is articulated in the design.

With a focus on connection with nature, the materials used in the house are kept subtle and natural. All floors are finished with a natural Indian ‘kota’ stone in a blue-green color that merges with the landscape. Pigmented cement and exposed local ‘laterite’ are used extensively to mirror the rustic countryside character. ‘Teak’ is used for doors and windows to add warmth and rich texture to the interiors. Antique wood columns and stone pedestals are also incorporated to bring a sense of luxury and timelessness throughout.  

The project also prioritises the enhancement of the site’s resources and biodiversity through a comprehensive water-management system which includes a natural seasonal pond connected to a newly planned system of bioswales. This on-site wetland feature harvests rainwater, recharges depleted underground aquifers, and offsets the load on the public drain system. Furthermore, it preserves the pre-existing site habitat. It is a win to see that insects, birds, and animals continue to find the site a safe space even as they come in close contact with the human life around, making this truly a space for all seasons and species.

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We have some much-awaited news!

Grounded will soon be launching 2 new luxury villas for sale in North Goa. Set within beautiful Aldona, the house is surrounded by peaceful green vistas and the rustic charm of the Goan countryside. With expansive living spaces, intimate pockets that look out to the pool, and nearly 3500 sqft of open space, the house seeks to offer seamless indoor-outdoor living. Like all our other residential projects, the villas will be sustainable, architecturally relevant, and closely connected to nature.

To know more about the villas,

Utsav House by Studio Mumbai is a sanctuary of serenity. This elemental yet contemporary house in Alibag by architect Bijoy Jain sensitively makes room for intimate interactions with the surrounding greenery as it effortlessly bridges the indoor with the outdoor. The picturesque scenes and the connections to the tropical context resonate deeply with our values, the natural roots we turn to while designing and building houses in Goa. Built with locally available material and around numerous indigenous trees, Utsav House achieves poetic spaces that have a rustic simplicity without compromising on any of our modern creature comforts. Throughout, the focus is on intentional building and living, through architecture that takes cues respectfully from the terrain and landscapes around.

Images courtesy Archdaily and The New York Times Style Magazine

Visit our previous blogpost on Utsav House here.

Learn more about Bijoy Jain’s Kapadia House, that is now a popular AirBnB here.

Now that you've got this house in Goa, imagine all the things you can do with it to make it your sanctuary. The most wonderful thing about having a house in Goa is being able to enjoy the natural immersion and the seasonal indulgence that comes with it. To us, design is a direct way to enhance comfort, improve quality of living, and create richness in experience within every space.

Design can be simple but generous and luxurious when the right materials and strategies are used. Here are 5 effective ways to create rustic spaces that are designed for barefoot and earthy luxury.

01 Create spacious bathrooms finished with rustic materials that feel great against bare feet.

Find bathrooms designed as sanctuary spaces here.

02 Use a colour palette of subtle shades & tones in neutral monochromatic colours.

Read more about building a neutral palette here.

03 Take advantage of the unique colours, patterns and textures of natural materials.

Learn about using and maintaining wood, lime, and IPS here.

04 Design landscape to mimic a wild landscape as opposed to manicured landscape.

Learn more about natural landscaping and local species here.

05 Practice a bit of wabi sabi where you appreciate and live with site's imperfections and the aging of materials.

Read our blogpost on living with nature.

Building with rammed earth is simple, pocket friendly, and sustainable. Contrary to popular belief, rammed earth construction is feasible in a wide range of climatic zones, including areas with a significant monsoon. A built rammed earth structure is a sight for sore eyes, it is a dense but breathable material which makes it great for thermal insulation. With the right processes and tools, a rammed earth structure can easily be implemented by anyone. Here are some basics about the natural material to help you get started.

Knowledge Partners: Gia Mantra Global Village

For a detailed analysis of Rammed Earth as a building material, watch my conversation with natural building expert Donald Sequeira here.

We also answered the FAQs on Rammed Earth recently. Find the Q&A session here.

In part two of 'Building with Rammed Earth', I speak to Donald Sequeira. Donald is an architect, natural builder, and the Director of Gia Mantra Global Village in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India. In this conversation, we take a deep dive into questions from students, practitioners and sustainability enthusiasts to clarify concerns regarding rammed earth as a building material. Through this Q&A session we touch upon various aspects including:

• The Building Process

• Strength of Material

• Potential of Construction

• Climate Feasibility, and

• Maintenance

Here are some interesting questions that we received over the course of the IG Live session:

1. Can a rammed earth structure be built in areas with heavy rain?

   A rammed earth structure can be built in any climatic zone including areas with heavy rainfall. The precaution to be taken is to ensure large overhangs are given to protect the wall from the rain. Additional surface treatments like waxing or plastering protect exterior walls for a longer period.

2. What is the ideal soil type for rammed earth?

   Yes. Rammed earth walls can be built out of most local soils but the clay content should not exceed 30%. If the clay content is higher, the soil can be mixed with other soil types or washed with water to dilute the clay concentration.

3. How are building services addressed?

   The electrical conduits and plumbing must be inserted while ramming. Prior planning is required. Otherwise, services can be added later but those surfaces may require plaster.

4. Are any surface treatments possible?

   Yes, rammed earth walls can be plastered, painted, and tiled over like any other wall. Clear treatments such as wall waxing are also possible.

5. Can river sand be added to the soil mix to reduce the clay content?

   Yes. However, river sand is not ideal because it is not a sustainable source. M-Sand is a good alternative to river sand and can be used as one of the mixture components.

6. Can a 4" rammed earth wall partition wall be created inside a RCC framed structure?

   A 4" rammed earth wall may not be possible since very little space is available for ramming. Furthermore, if the wall is planned beneath a pre-existing beam or a slab, it becomes harder to ram the top portions and close the gap. CSEB is a good alternative for built framed structures.