CATCHING THE WIND

As I walk up the ramp, I can’t help but notice how different this house feels from the surrounding two-floor buildings, stacked side by side. The elevation creates a unique perspective, setting the house apart. The answer to this difference becomes clear as I catch the breeze flowing through, especially when I step two steps down into my favorite space—the coolest spot in the house, where I spend most of my day. The large door leading to the garden blurs the boundary between the indoors and outdoors, making the living area feel expansive and connected to nature.

Two steps up, the aroma from the kitchen greets me, and as I sit at the dining table, I can observe the rhythm of the house. Next to the dining area, a door opens onto the terrace, where I love to watch the sunset every evening. On weekends, we climb up to the wind catcher, adjusting its openings every four months and starting the water connection in summer for downdraft cooling. This makes our nights in the bedroom, which I share with my kids, comfortably cool. When I close the partition door, I’m cocooned in the privacy of my bedroom.

The small courtyard plays a vital role, bringing in light and helping to rise up the hot air, while every glance out the window connects me to the activity on the road outside. Each time I walk down the ramp, I feel the house embracing me, as if it’s lifting off with me.

The plot is 16 by 20 meters, surrounded by buildings on two sides of the plot with no space between the plot and adjacent buildings . The highest ground level of the plot is 349 and it differs by 1 m at the other corner of the plot .There’s a 6.31-meter-wide road next to it in the southeast direction. There’s no such vegetation around, and the surrounding buildings, which are two stories high, which blocks the winds from reaching the plot.