Architect Amrutha Kishor of Elemental isn’t one to believe in folklore—but if her latest Kerala home project taught her anything, it is to rethink where myth ends and meaning begins. “During our first meeting, our clients had an interesting story to tell,” Kishor recalls, referring to sisters Rekha Utham, based in Bahrain, and Renu Krishnadas, based in Dubai, along with their respective husbands and children. “The scope of work was not merely to design a holiday home on their ancestral land where their families could gather, but to create a space deeply rooted in tradition and legacy—one that preserves a story etched into the heart of North Malabar for centuries.”
Jali walls and locally quarried laterite blocks form the bungalow’s cool shell, while double-layered clay tiles and uncoated Mangalore roofing shield it from Kerala’s torrential rains.
Justin Sebastian Photography