"Thatch-mud" scales cloak habitable bridge in India by Wallmakers

Architecture studio Wallmakers has completed Bridge House in rural Karjat, India, a weekend home spanning a seven-metre-deep gorge and clad entirely in furry thatched scales.

Wallmakers created the bridge-shaped home on a challenging site comprising two parcels of land divided by a 30-metre-wide spillway, which required a height clearance for diggers to pass below.

With the transportation of materials to the site also presenting difficulties, the studio looked to use what was available nearby for its construction.

This led to it having a minimal steel structure, camouflaged with a mixture of mud and local grass thatch.

"From the outset, the project seemed to be burdened by a lot of constraints," principal architect Vinu Daniel told Dezeen.

"The brief was for a large 418-square-metre home with four bedrooms, but even the transportation of basic materials was difficult in that region," Daniel added.

"The two parcels of land had to be connected, but the foundations couldn't rest within the 30 metres width of the spillway, and there had to be enough clearance for a JCB to clean the two streams underneath."

The core structure of the habitable bridge is formed of steel beams and arches, anchored by four footings that accommodate the necessary clearance from the spillway.

Covering this structure is a twisting, hyperbolic paraboloid surface created by a grid of steel cables, which were then coated in a layer of mud.

This mud layer provided the compressive strength needed to stabilise the bridge, as well as a barrier against pests that might burrow through the outer layer of thatched local grass, which has a scale-like appearance intended to resemble a pangolin.

"Thatched roof construction, even though sustainable and thermally efficient, has been on the decline due to problems like pest invasion, lack of skilled labour, deforestation and the hassle of constant reapplication," Daniel explained.

"However in this particular project , the new avatar of thatch-mud composite has been able to remove all the chinks in the armour," he added.

The bridge's central span contains an elongated living space that sits beneath a large open oculus, allowing the elements to enter.

A pair of two-storey, angular volumes at either end of the bridge contain bedrooms, while the kitchen and dining area are located in a prow-like, glazed volume that overlooks a triangular swimming pool and the nearby forest.

The mud coating of Bridge House has been left exposed throughout the interiors, blending the walls and ceilings to create "cocoon-like" spaces that bear the diamond-grid imprint of the steelwork behind.

Shoji-style translucent screens divide the interiors, while two areas of netting next to the living space create hammock-like areas for relaxing.

Wallmakers is an architecture studio established by Daniel in 2007. In 2023, Daniel faced criticism on social media for his studio's use of unpaid internships, which he claims have an important educational benefit.

Previous projects by the studio include a home with perforated walls incorporating discarded toys and an arts centre and home topped by a roof that doubles as tiered seating.

The photography is by IKSHA.

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