Roomoor Completes Monastic Field, a Concrete House in a Jain Temple Precinct

Architecture studio Roomoor has completed Monastic Field, a concrete house set inside a Jain temple precinct in Baleshwar, India, that takes its cues from the rock-cut monk's dwellings of the Deccan Plateau.

The home was designed for the family that originally donated the land for the temple in 2005. Because the temple site receives hundreds of visitors a day, Roomoor shaped the house as a low-slung cluster of concrete volumes — largely closed to the outside but lit internally by skylights and carefully placed openings.

"The core idea was to create a spiritual and reflective environment within the order of a house as a cluster, resisting the idea of one large object in favour of many small-scaled experiences," senior partner Mahendra Gusain and design partner Dhruv Gusain told Dezeen.

How is the house organised?

The cluster of rectangular concrete volumes surrounds a central hall topped by a pyramidal concrete roof. A skylight punctures the roof at its apex, and clerestory windows run along its four sides.

Seating sits beneath the pyramid, framed by slender concrete columns. This open central space flows into a dining area, a library and an outdoor verandah. The remaining programme — kitchen, study, bathrooms and three bedrooms — occupies the rectilinear blocks arranged around the centre.

"The structure moves from stillness to movement," said Mahendra and Dhruv Gusain. "It follows a pinwheel organisation around a central pyramidal space, with the plan extending in the cardinal directions while the centre remains connected to the sky."

Why exposed concrete?

The studio chose concrete in response to what it describes as the "permanence" of the neighbouring temple's white stone structure, as well as the "monolithic" qualities of the Deccan's rock-cut shrines and dwellings.

"The house draws from the archetype of rock-cut viharas (monastic dwellings), leading us toward a monolithic language of exposed, form-finished concrete," said Mahendra and Dhruv Gusain.

"Ultimately, we wanted the material to recede and allow light to become the primary material," they added.

Externally, the concrete is complemented by red sandstone used for garden walls and patios. Inside, the minimal interiors feature dark wood carpentry and stone floors.

What does the temple context demand?

The architects said the building's public edge required careful calibration next to an active place of worship. "The challenge was to create an appropriately scaled public edge while allowing the temple to remain the primary structure," they told Dezeen.

"This proximity helped us rethink the house as something that responds to the context not only physically, but also in its spirit," they continued.

Monastic Field joins a growing body of Indian houses drawing on the geology of the Deccan Plateau. Earlier this year, the rocky character of the region also informed Aurva Illam, a home near Hyderabad by Iki Builds constructed from rammed earth, local stone and terracotta tiles.

The photography is by Jainee Gusain.