ROOM FOR TREES

5 hours ago

3 min read

Aamir and Hameeda shape a Hyderabad family home around its mature trees, excavated stone and a Kerala-inspired roofline.

Photos by : Ishita Sitwala

At its heart, Coco Beans is a home about coexistence: with the land, with the trees, with light and with the rhythms of everyday life. Set on a rocky 700 sq yd site in Hyderabad, the 6,000 sq ft residence by architecture and interiors studio Aamir and Hameeda, led by Aamir Sharma and Hameeda Sharma, unfolds across three levels for a family deeply connected to nature. Named after the family's cat, the house carries a sense of warmth from the very beginning, personal not through overt gestures but through the way its spaces respond to daily living.

LETTING THE LAND LEAD

The site arrived with its own identity: existing trees, uneven terrain, excavated stone, shifting light and natural contours. Early concepts were set aside when it became clear the original footprint would mean removing several mature trees. The design began again, this time with the landscape as its guide.

Instead of flattening the terrain, the plan grew around what was already there. Trees informed the layout, courtyards emerged between preserved pockets of greenery, and openings were placed to keep a constant relationship with the outdoors. The aim was not simply a view of nature, but a way of living between inside and outside.

The process remained adaptive through construction. Some spaces were reduced, reworked or removed altogether in favour of openness, trees and stronger links to the courtyards. Conventional markers of scale and luxury, such as expansive formal rooms and additional built-up area, were consciously given up. The result is a house that breathes. Mornings bring filtered light through the courtyards, afternoons retreat into shaded transitional spaces, and evenings soften against stone, wood and warm pools of light.

STONE, WOOD AND A RISING ROOF

One of the project's defining moves is the reuse of stone excavated from the site. Reworked into CRS walls and sculptural elements, it embeds the land physically in the identity of the house. A restrained palette of concrete, wood and stone is kept deliberately neutral, so the greenery remains the strongest presence throughout.

Sloping roofs inspired by traditional Kerala architecture, a language the homeowners felt drawn to, emerged later in the process as the elevations developed, and became one of the home's signatures. Rising and dropping across the structure, the roofline brings movement, shade and sculptural depth, and shapes the character of the rooms below.

Louvered wooden windows encourage ventilation and privacy, while semi-open sit-outs, shaded thresholds and layered circulation blur the boundary between in and out. At the centre, a single-cast reinforced cement concrete spiral staircase rises sculpturally through the house, both connector and anchor. The first floor holds two guest bedrooms linked by a lobby overlooking the courtyards, while the master suite above sits immersed in soft light and views of the trees.

LIVED IN, NOT PERFORMED

Though minimal, the home never feels austere. Animal-inspired sculptures, collected art and a bold Art Deco couch bring playfulness and personality to the restrained palette. Nothing feels overly polished. The house is made to be fully inhabited, whether by muddy paws racing across the courtyard, conversations spilling into semi-open spaces or long stretches of stillness framed by trees.

Rather than maximising floor area or relying on familiar symbols of luxury, Coco Beans prioritises openness, atmosphere and coexistence with the landscape. It feels less built on its site than born of it.