brick wards emerge from the arid landscape of ahilyanagar, india
In Ahilya Nagar, Indiaa brick Named The Anthill, the house was designed by Kaushal Tatiya Architects as a low mass resembling an undulating ground facade. Called The Anthill, the house draws on the structure of mounds made by insects, turning their chambers, passageways, vents and thermal intelligence into residential work designed for heat, movement and shade.
Designed by leading architects Kaushal Suresh Tatiya and Sweety Muttha, the 7,000 sq ft bungalow lives up to a brief of a home in a hot and dry climate. The project relies on passive cooling, cross-ventilation and reduced reliance on mechanical systems, using bricks as both structure and environmental device.
Its mass appears introverted from the outside, with solid walls and perforated surfaces that retain glare, while the interior opens up through courtyards, skylights and shaded transitions.
images © Avesh Gaur
kaushal tatiya architects look towards the anthill
Designing the house, the group at Kaushal Tatiya Architects, based in India, consider the anthill as a model for spatial organization as much as a form. The house is designed as a series of interconnected chambers, where rooms branch off from larger communal volumes and traffic shifts through compressed passageways and more open gathering spaces.
Movement within the house becomes part of the architecture, shaped by changing ceiling heights, filtered light and the slow unveiling of courtyards within the brick envelope. In the living room, an expansive courtyard brings light and air to the floor plan, while a water cascade adds passive cooling to the central space.
Jali brick — perforated walls — skylights and ventilation shafts draw air through the house, creating a stack effect that helps regulate temperature through the section rather than the machinery. The same porous logic shapes the facade, where perforations moderate the sun and bring patterned light into the interior.
Anthill takes shape in Ahilyanagar, India as an undulating brick bungalow
the exposed brick forms a thermal shell
Throughout the home, material choices stay close to the earth. Exposed brick defines the main architectural language, joined by embossed concrete, terracotta, plaster, locally sourced stone and wooden furniture. The surfaces are tactile and dense, with the brickwork giving the bungalow a sense of mass while allowing it to breathe through small openings and multi-level cavities.
Architects use the material as insulation and atmosphere at the same time. Light enters through pierced skylights, courtyards and perforated facades, creating pockets of light within the heavier shell. In the bedrooms, two types of openings shape the relationship with the outside: smaller windows support cross ventilation, while balconies extend the rooms towards distant views of the surrounding landscape.
Kaushal Tatiya Architects designed the residence for the hot and dry climate of Maharashtra
a house formed through climate and movement
The Anthill acquires its identity through texture, shadow and a close relationship with the ground. Its mound-like form is shaped in part by stepped terraces and alternating balconies, recalling the traditional concept of chats while giving the house shaded edges and outdoor thresholds. A 12-foot cantilevered slab, supported by pressed bricks, adds a heavier architectural gesture to the otherwise ground-like composition.
In an area defined by heat and intense sunlight, the project is an exploration of how a home can borrow from natural systems without becoming literal. Kaushal Tatiya Architects use the anthill as a way to think about comfort, privacy and ventilation.
Exposed brick walls form a heavy shell that filters sun and heat
Brick Jalis, or perforated walls, draw air through the house while softening the interior light
