The Ring House by studio prAcademics: Architecture Review

The Ring House by studio prAcademics is a weekend retreat in Jaspur, a northern suburb of Ahmedabad in India, completed in 2021. Built for a large family of fourteen, including four young children, the 740 square metre house takes the form of a brick-clad ring raised above the ground among mature mango and chikoo trees. It reinterprets the courtyard and veranda of traditional Saurashtra village houses in a compact, contemporary form. This review explains the thinking behind the design, how its spaces work, and what it offers to people planning farmhouses and country homes in Pakistan.

A Site Shaped by Water and Trees

The site is unusual. A canal runs along its southern edge and farmland surrounds it on the other sides. More than 120 trees, mostly mango and chikoo (sapodilla), grow on the land, and the combination of water, fields and trees makes it a haven for birds.

The architects decided early that the building should fit into this landscape without removing the existing trees. They identified an area free of fruit trees and kept the building compact to reduce its footprint. The ground also has varying levels, and the design follows these contours rather than flattening the site.

Raised Among the Trees

The house sits on a platform raised about three metres, partly built up as lawn and partly carried on cantilevers. This simple move has several effects:

• Living spaces sit closer to the tree canopy, so residents look into foliage and see birds at close range.
• The forecourt and house are surrounded by mature trees instead of open ground.
• Cantilevered sections reduce the area of ground disturbed by foundations.

For a site next to a canal, raising the building also provides a margin above the surrounding land.

Reinterpreting the Saurashtra Village House

The design draws on the traditional village houses of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. Two elements are central:

In the Ring House, these ideas are wrapped into a circle. The entrance space becomes a circular court with generous seating, lit by daylight that filters through slits in the raised circular roof. The veranda becomes a curved circulation corridor separating bedrooms, kitchen and dining from the living area.

How the Ring Works

As brick-clad walls and layers of interior space encircle the living areas, the building forms a continuous ring. Strategic openings and perforations in the walls frame different views of the landscape from inside, so each room has its own relationship with the trees and fields.

Shade and comfort

A slanted, saucer-like slab projects beyond the walls, shading the brickwork and openings from Gujarat’s strong sun. Combined with the central court, which draws air upward, and the perforated walls, this supports natural ventilation and reduces heat gain.

Family living

For an extended family with small children, the ring provides a safe, inward-facing centre where everyone gathers, with bedrooms around it for privacy. The continuous corridor also lets children move around the house in a loop, which the architects describe as part of their interest in how human movement shapes space.

Materials and Construction

The Ring House relies on a short list of familiar materials. Brick cladding gives the outer walls their texture and colour and ties the building to the regional tradition of masonry. Concrete is used for the platform, cantilevers and the projecting shading slab, while timber, plywood and laminates are used inside for joinery and finishes.

Why ordinary materials matter

Using locally available materials keeps the house easier to build and maintain. Brick weathers well, needs little upkeep and gains character over time. Local masons understand it, so repairs do not depend on specialist contractors.

Building a curve

Curved brick walls require careful setting out from a fixed centre point, consistent brick sizes and skilled masons. The circular roof, with its raised section and light slits, needs accurate formwork and good waterproofing at every joint, since curved roofs can collect water if levels are not controlled.

Structure in a warm, humid climate

The cantilevers and projecting slab are structural elements that must be designed for deflection and durability. In warm, humid conditions, good concrete cover, proper curing and attention to drip details at slab edges help prevent staining and corrosion over the years.

Inside the house

The interiors use natural light from the central court and the perforated walls as a key part of the atmosphere. Because daylight is filtered rather than direct, rooms remain bright without glare, which reduces the need for artificial lighting during the day and keeps spaces cooler.

Strengths and Trade-offs

Lessons for Pakistan

The Ring House is a weekend home on a generous rural site, so not every idea transfers directly to a city plot. The underlying principles, however, apply widely.

Many of the Ring House’s ideas have close parallels in Pakistan’s own building traditions. The faliyu and osri are similar to the sehan (courtyard) and dalaan or veranda of traditional homes and havelis in Punjab and Sindh. These ideas suit farmhouses and country homes on the edges of Lahore, Islamabad, Multan and other cities.

Practical notes for Pakistani sites

• Approvals: farmhouses in areas controlled by authorities such as LDA or CDA have their own rules on coverage and height; check them before design.
• Flooding: sites near canals or drains benefit from a raised plinth, as the Ring House shows.
• Bricks: Pakistan has a strong brick tradition; well-burnt, consistent bricks and skilled masons are essential for exposed brickwork.
• Ventilation: a central court combined with high openings can drive natural air movement, an approach recognised in ventilation guidance from bodies such as ASHRAE.
• Cost: curved forms raise cost; a polygon or square courtyard plan can deliver similar benefits more economically.

ACCO designs and builds homes and farmhouses through its house construction service. For larger plots, our 1 kanal house design guide discusses layouts, and the house construction cost guide explains how budgets are built; ACCO prices every project through an itemised BOQ.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

The Ring House by studio prAcademics shows how a modern home can grow from its landscape and its region’s building traditions. By raising the house among the trees, wrapping rooms around an open court and shading its brick walls, the architects created a calm family retreat with a strong identity. Pakistani homeowners can apply the same principles, using local courtyard traditions, careful site planning and sound engineering, to create farmhouses and homes that are comfortable and rooted in place. See ACCO’s architecture and construction services to discuss a project.