Sona Farm, Sector 135, Noida

Selected Works / 02

Sona Farm

Origami Over a Mound

Sector 135, Noida2017 – 2019

A light form resting on a sculpted mound of earth, where the ground was designed before the plan was.

The earthen mound lifts the house above the surrounding fields and lets the lawn roll up to meet the verandah and the plinth. Moving around the building is a soft climb and descent across gradients, trees, flowering shrubs and stone retaining edges. The architecture participates with the site rather than sitting on it.

The structure is light gauge steel framing, chosen in 2017 for a market that pours concrete by reflex: light foundations on agricultural soil, fast erection, thin walls, and a roof light enough to justify its long cantilevers. Folded roofs, timber ceilings and frameless spans open the interior to clerestory light where two planes slide past each other.

01

The land, then the mound

The ground was designed first. The lawn is graded up to the plinth so the house is met, not approached.

Across the fields — the house on the horizon
Across the fields — the house on the horizon
The lawn graded up to meet the plinth
The lawn graded up to meet the plinth
The great lawn, looking back to the house
The great lawn, looking back to the house
The climb, taken in stone
The climb, taken in stone
02

The folded roof

Two roof planes slide past each other. Where they part, a clerestory brings light down the depth of the plan.

Where the two planes slide past each other
Where the two planes slide past each other
Read as pavilions from the drive
Read as pavilions from the drive
The long elevation, and the clerestory band above it
The long elevation, and the clerestory band above it
03

Verandah and threshold

The lawn does not stop at a wall. It arrives at a deck, a step and a deep eave, and the house begins somewhere inside that thickness.

The deck at the end of the day
The deck at the end of the day
The entrance under its eave
The entrance under its eave
Stones set into the lawn, after rain
Stones set into the lawn, after rain
04

Water and the garden

The axis to the water, under bougainvillea
The axis to the water, under bougainvillea
The pergola in flower
The pergola in flower
The pool deck, held between planting and shade
The pool deck, held between planting and shade
At night, read as one lit plane above the dark field
At night, read as one lit plane above the dark field
05

How it was built

Light gauge steel, specified in 2017 for a market that pours concrete by reflex. Light foundations on agricultural soil, and a roof light enough to cantilever. The sequence below runs from the frame going up on the mound to the shell before it was lined.

October 2018 — the frame going up, seen along its length
October 2018 — the frame going up, seen along its length
November 2018 — the whole frame set out on the mound
November 2018 — the whole frame set out on the mound
November 2018 — the gable end, and the fold in the roof
November 2018 — the gable end, and the fold in the roof
July 2019 — the shell, before it was lined
July 2019 — the shell, before it was lined
July 2019 — the clerestory, doing its work already
July 2019 — the clerestory, doing its work already
July 2019 — under the folded soffit
July 2019 — under the folded soffit
Drawings7 sheets

Three plans, then two elevations and two sections. Every sheet is cropped to one common frame at a single scale, so they can be read against each other. Each sheet carries its own graphic scale.

Ground floor: living and dining set at an angle to the bedrooms, the mound drawn as contours around them
Ground floor: living and dining set at an angle to the bedrooms, the mound drawn as contours around them01
First floor: one room over the bedroom block, and the roofs of everything below
First floor: one room over the bedroom block, and the roofs of everything below02
Roof plan: the folded planes that give the house its section, and the pergola between the two blocks
Roof plan: the folded planes that give the house its section, and the pergola between the two blocks03
Elevation 1: the living pavilion and the bedroom block held apart by the pergola
Elevation 1: the living pavilion and the bedroom block held apart by the pergola04
Elevation 4: the opposite face, the two-storey end against the low clerestory range
Elevation 4: the opposite face, the two-storey end against the low clerestory range05
Section 1: through the living pavilion, the raking soffit and the clerestory above it
Section 1: through the living pavilion, the raking soffit and the clerestory above it06
Section 4: cut through the two-storey block, with the pergola and the living range beyond
Section 4: cut through the two-storey block, with the pergola and the living range beyond07

“The lawn rolls up to meet the plinth, and the house rides the berm.”

Shrutiniwas Sharma
CreditsCompleted 2019
Location
Sector 135, Noida, Uttar Pradesh
Date
2017 – 2019
Typology
Farmhouse
Site area
One acre
Built-up area
2,700 sq ft
Structure
Light gauge steel framing
Architect
STUDIO Shrutiniwas
Principal architect
Shrutiniwas Sharma
Next project Gaya Residence All selected works How the studio draws