Palmyra

House
By Studio Mumbai Architects, Bijoy Jain

Adam Yusuf 0338206

Loh Jia Jun 0343271
Ooi Zi En 0342402
Gerald Kho Ming Xiang 0343462
Ahmed Babiker 0340069
Pang Xiao Xuan 0343664
Palmyra House
CONTEXT -
A louvered two-story house, divided into two oblong
masses that are somewhat offset from one another.
Located outside of Mumbai on the Arabian Sea,
Palmyra House was built as a refuge from the bustle
of the busy city. The house evokes an amalgam of
vernacular architecture and contemporary design.
Jain relied on his intuition to guide his process.
“There is a constant struggle to understand the sense
of that intuition and finding a method within myself
to be as honest to it as possible. In this case, it was
about a light, air-filled volume,” he says
CLIMATE
LOCATION The Palmyra house is located outside of Mumbai on the Arabian Sea. It is located inside a functioning
coconut plantation. Due to its close proximity to Mumbai, we can assume that it's Koppen Microclimate is
libagh, India nearby the beach of the Arabian sea similar to that of Mumbai. The Koppen Microclimate classification subtype of Mumbai is "Aw" which
translates to "equatorial" "winter dry" (Tropical Savannah Climate.

CULTURAL & SOCIAL CONTEXT

Given that India’s restless financial capital, Mumbai, sits just an hour across nearby Mandwa Bay,
the area has long been favored by wealthy Mumbaikars seeking weekend homes and a place to relax. 
-45 minute boat and 45 minutes car ride south from Mumbai.
-mostly rural with fishing and harvesting-coconuts.
-have a fair amount of vacation homes
-And there-rental properties for the cities busnisess class.
MATERIALS

Structural framing for the

house was built of ain wood, a
local hardwood, and was
constructed using traditional
interlocking joinery. The
extensive louvres were
handcrafted from the outer
part of the palmyra trunk (a
local palm species).

Exteriors are detailed with hand-

worked copper flashing and
standing seam aluminum roofs;
interior surfaces are finished
with teakwood and India Patent
Stone, a refined pigmented
plaster. Locally quarried black
basalt was used to construct the
stone plinths, aqueduct walls
and pool plaza.
 PASSIVE DESIGN

Palmyra house combines passive design

elements,elevations enable passive cooling,
as does the extensive shade provided by the
coconut trees above; water for the house is
harvested from three onsite wells, filtered
and stored at the top of a water tower and
fed by gravity to the house
As the building relies more on passive
cooling, the ventilation is mostly natural.
STUDIO MUMBAI ARCHITECTS
Founded by Bijoy Jain, Studio Mumbai is a "combines indian tradition
with modernity"
human infrastructure of skilled craftsmen
and architects who design and build the work
directly.
Utsav House / Studio Mumbai Copper House II / Studio Mumbai

BIJOY JAIN
Bijoy Jain (born 1965) is an indian
architect. He received his M.
Arch from Washington
University in St.Louis USA in
1990. He then worked in Richard
Meir office at Los Angeles
MPavilion Bijoy Jain of Studio Mumbai House on Pali Hill / Studio Mumbai
and London between 1989 and

1995. He returned to India in 1995

and founded his own firm, Studio

Mumbai Architects. 
STRUCTURE
louvered two-story house, divided into two oblong
masses that are somewhat offset from one another.

The functions of the house are placed within two oblong masses
slightly offset from one another, whose facades are predominantly
characterised by louvers made from the trunks of the local Palmyra
palm.

Anchored to stone platforms, the structures overlook a network

of wells and aqueducts that weave the site into an inhabitable
whole.
ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS
 Site plan

The Palmya house is 3000 sq. Ft was designed as a holiday home for a businessman from
Mumbai and is located on a coconut plantation consisting of two different functional SITE PLAN
wooden roof structures, where the louvres were made from the trunks of coconut trees.
SCALE: 1:250
connect the site into a residential whole.
Perspective
Floor Plan, ground floor
Floor Plan, first floor
 Elevations &
Section elevation

section elevation
scale 1:75

south elevation west elevation

scale 1:75 scale 1:75
DIAGRAM ANALYSIS
CONCEPT Progress Analysis
represents a positional First attempt: constructing the
relationship between basic rectangular form, paving
architecture and nature. the balsa wood to represent the
louvers.
The two masses show
effective reaction to the
natural ventilation through
the aligned patterns of Enhancement in showing the
louvers that that almost the louvers, adding plastic sheet to
defines the building. represent the palm leaves filters.

Two contemporary-styled architectural masses and a swimming

pool, lay close and in a proximity.

Final Model
shows the
fenestration, form
and the patterns
that defines the
building.
 STRUCTURE
Using basic timber structural framework with
Progress Analysis
the following techniques:
-traditional interlocking joinery
-structure grid pattern
-primary & secondary structure member
-materiality

Final Model

Double Mortise
Square Material Cylinder Wedged Joint
&
T-shaped Joint
Tenon Joint
CONTEXT
Wind diagram
The wind comes from the
PROGRESS ANALYSIS
South West
FIRST ATTEMPT
It is located close to the sea, I tested out how the site context should be presented by
so in a tropical climate, the starting doing a test model. (improper scale)
Palmyra house feels After did the test model, we made a decision to focus on
spacious. "WIND" for the context.

The ever-present palmyra

louvers (luvers) allowing rich
air circulation.

FINAL MODEL

Legends

Coconut tree wells

Wooden Block Pools

Wind
CIRCULATION
PROGRESS ANALYSIS
FIRST ATTEMPT

Both separated plans

Hard to clearly get the
idea of the circulation of
both floors

Colour of the arrows

same as the building
Circulation of the house
is not clearly shown
FINAL MODEL
SPACE PLANNING PROGRESS ANALYSIS
Final Space planning diagram
FIRST ATTEMPT Did a north
SECOND ATTEMPT
Added semi public
block section and semi private
Change
and a ground spaces
the style of
floor plan to added one more
the
show public section and a first
hatching to
be more
or private. floor plan and did
Test Model hatching on it
neat.
colours differentiates
the types of spaces as
public, semi public,
The space planning of the Palmyra House includes semi private and
interlocking and adjacent spaces, inside of the Palmyra private
house uses grid spatial organization.
FINAL MODEL

The model shows two

floor of the building and
the colours of different
spaces are shown in a flat
surface for clearer
understanding.
DAYLIGHTING
Daylighting diagram The orientation of the PROGRESS ANALYSIS
building , the pool and
the sun path indicates
that the pool is
constantly exposed to
the sun and does not
receive shading whereas
the buildings are mostly
shaded throughout the
day
The massing is orientated in such a way that the sun is always
almost directly above when it is not rising or setting suggesting
-During sunrise, the sunlight is able to enter through the eastside of the buildings,
that shading is needed directly overhead -During noon, the sunlight is shining directly overhead and minimal light is able to enter the building,
-During sunset, the sunlight is able to enter through the west side shortly before sundown
FINAL MODEL
The model shows the
massing of the
buildings and pool in
a small scale
orientated as to show
the sun path for a
clearer understanding
on where the sun
travels through the
day