The Earth Home is a unique residential project in the periphery of Ahmedabad, featuring two conjoined homes that share the same materiality and architectural language while presenting distinctly different spatial configurations. Connected and separated by a shared driveway, garden, and courtyard, the project embodies a integrated design approach.

The site’s existing 19 large Neem trees were a central design consideration, with the architectural plan meticulously accommodating these mature trees. The design strategy involved building around the trees, and in some instances, integrating them directly into the space through the use of  courtyards. The house rests on light pile foundations, with masonry utilizing compacted lime-debris bricks, bound together with lime mortar and finished with lime plaster. All wooden elements are reclaimed from the ship breaking industry in Alang, and furniture is crafted on-site.

Water management is a critical aspect of the project. The property generates no runoff, with only the building itself creating an impervious surface. The permeable driveway and roof drainage network connect to a rainwater tank for domestic purposes, with overflow directed back into the extraction bore well. A strategically designed sunken landscape area holds and slowly percolates excess rainwater into the ground. The septic tank’s outflow is channeled into dispersion trenches, saturating the ground with nutrient-rich water that nourishes the newly planted forest. The vegetation comprises primarily local and functional species, designed to gradually transform the site’s ecosystem in the coming years.