Suvadu

Annai Sita Illam

A 2,640 sq.ft house on a 26-foot-wide plot, built around a triple-height spine, three stepped terraces, and the well and mango trees that were already there.

Leaf imprint, cast in concrete

Built-up: 2,640 sq.ft
Plot: 26′ × 87′ 2,262 sq.ft
Levels: 3 plus roof
Completed: 2025 Chennai
Cost / est.: ₹79 L – ₹1.19 Cr benchmark only

Photographs

Volume Zero ↗

Select a photograph to open it here, full size.

Dusk view of Suvadu from the street — Dusk, from the street Hosh Pictures

Living room opening to the pooja niche — Living to pooja Hosh Pictures

Front terrace with brick screen and plants — Front terrace Hosh Pictures

Triple-height stair volume — Triple-height stair Hosh Pictures

Leaf-stamped concrete ceiling over the stair — Leaf-stamped ceiling Hosh Pictures

Stairwell seen from above — Stairwell, from above Hosh Pictures

Film

Hosh Pictures

Suvadu — architecture and interior film

Watch on YouTube ↗

Section · terraces, spine, gardenNot to scale

The move

The plot was carved out of the family’s old 52′ × 87′ property. Instead of rebuilding the courtyard, D.L.E.A turned openness vertical: a triple-height volume along the north edge, terraces stepping down to the street, and the rear garden left to the old trees and the restored well.

It is sized for one resident and a family that visits from abroad: a ground-floor life for Sita, and terraces that let a grandmother and a grandchild occupy the same afternoon on different levels.

“Memory built into architecture, layer by layer.”D.L.E.A, project note

Materials

Red oxide floor
Green oxide floor
Grey oxide floor
Pot filler slab
Leaf-imprinted concrete
Mango + ancestral well

Open

Cost

₹79 L – ₹1.19 Crtotal · structure + finishes

Estimate at ₹3,000–4,500 per sq.ft for structure and finishes. Excludes land, interiors and consultant fees. Not a quotation.