Saag
Amidst trees that predate occupation, and lives shaped around making, a house for a potter.
Set within a plotted layout in Auroville, the 30 × 50 ft site holds six trees. Two large teak trees, one at the centre, two kadambs along the western edge, and younger neem trees define the ground. The house begins by staying with them, allowing the built to take shape around what is already present.
The project grows from a close association with Aarti, a ceramic teacher, and from shared experiences of making and learning, including time at Golden Bridge Pottery. These references remain not as formal gestures, but in the way spaces are held, allowing for pauses, for work, and for what may come to inhabit them over time.
Each space finds its place in relation to the trees, opening into courts rather than towards a defined front or back. The kitchen, living, and studio extend into this shared ground, held lightly by granite pillars common to the region. Low walls trace the edges of these courts, allowing the trees to remain part of everyday life, where the built and unbuilt remain continuous. All spaces, including the washrooms and bedrooms, open into these courts, which connect back to the main living court.
Living and working come together here. The house is paired with a small potter’s studio, both organised around the court, where daily life moves between inside and outside. The levelled terrace above the studio becomes a place to pause, for yoga and for moments of retreat.
The roof follows this condition. A catenary vault spans the main living space, opening toward the court and drawing the central teak into the interior, with clerestory openings bringing light in from the court. The studio is formed through jack arches, while the upper level sits under a full vault, giving each space its own sectional condition. A corridor shifts as it moves through the house, accommodating the trees, at times widening and at others narrowing to pass around them.
The walls remain thick, with openings set deep, marking transitions between inside and outside. Lime and mud plasters finish the surfaces, while terracotta tiles and IPS form the flooring, carrying a material language familiar to the region.
The house remains modest in scale, shaped for single occupancy. An independent access to the upper level allows it to hold another life alongside, for separate living or renting, as is often seen in the locality.
As the house settles, it begins to receive what Aarti brings into it. Objects, work, and traces of making find their place. Clay enters the built surfaces, extending the relationship between making and the space it inhabits. The house builds around what is already there.
