People Tree House

People Tree House
©Andre J Fanthome

PEOPLE TREE HOUSE / ARCHIOPTERYX

Archiopteryx

ARCHITECTS
Archiopteryx

PHOTOGRAPHS
Andre J Fanthome

AREA
500 M²

YEAR
2022

LOCATION
Noida, India

CATEGORY
Houses

NOIDA is a planned satellite city of Delhi, and part of the National Capital region of India.

People Tree House
©Andre J Fanthome
People Tree House
©Andre J Fanthome

The city is organized as a series of rectilinear tree-lined transportation grids: encompassing sectors, that are further divided into blocks of plots.

The ‘People tree house’ is a 7000 sqft building, built on one such plot, and is surrounded by neighboring buildings on three sides.

The clients: medical entrepreneurs and their children, lovingly chose and named the plot ‘Ashvattha’ based on the fortuitously located ‘fig tree’ to the eastern corner of the site.

People Tree House
©Andre J Fanthome
People Tree House
©Andre J Fanthome
People Tree House
©Andre J Fanthome

FICUS TREES:

like Banyans, Pilkhan, and Peepal, bear inward-growing fig flowers that are pollinated by their own specific species of ‘fig-wasps’ which in turn can only breed inside their partner's fig fruit.

This exhibition of mutualism results in the ripened fruit being a year-round source of nourishment for frugivorous and insectivorous birds and mammals.

People Tree House
©Andre J Fanthome
People Tree House
©Andre J Fanthome

The project is an attempt to lure these visiting birds, and insects to explore: carefully selected and located flora on our site, resulting in a sustainable harmonious relationship between human and non-human residents and visitors.

Reminiscent of the subcontinent's rich architectural heritage, light is let in from the south-east quadrant through apertures, skylights, and cut-outs: broken into shadow, filtered, and reflected off surfaces to bathe the volumes in ‘sufficient light’.

People Tree House
©Andre J Fanthome
People Tree House
©Andre J Fanthome

The building generates energy, recycles, and irrigates to nurture life, in tradition with age-old water harvesting techniques,

The curved roof and sloped skylight, channel rainwater to a storage tank at the pool level where it is released to the lower-level planters via a drip-irrigation system.

People Tree House
©Andre J Fanthome
People Tree House
©Andre J Fanthome

The reinforced brick concrete balcony extensions are finished with WPC (Wood Plastic Composite) floors and double up as reservoirs for rainwater and waste water runoff: a by-product of domestic water purification systems located at the highest level.

Pool water and excess irrigation water overflow, from the upper levels, are then channeled via pipes to the underground rainwater storage tank.

People Tree House
©Andre J Fanthome
People Tree House
©Andre J Fanthome
People Tree House
©Andre J Fanthome

At the entrance level, this pipe doubles up as the handrail for the staircase that leads to sunlit subterranean work areas.

Whenever needed, the stored water is rechannelled to upper levels, creating an efficient closed loop of: ‘collect-irrigate-store-re-use’.

People Tree House
©Andre J Fanthome
People Tree House
©Andre J Fanthome
People Tree House
©Andre J Fanthome


People Tree House
Plans
People Tree House
Plans
People Tree House
Plan-Location


People Tree House
Front Elevation
People Tree House
Rear Elevation
People Tree House
Section
People Tree House
Section


People Tree House
Detail 01
People Tree House
Detail 02
People Tree House
Detail 03
People Tree House
Structure Diagram