Guest post by Sridhar - Courtyards in Urban Spaces

On behalf of the two wonderful men who are behind us with their unstinting support, Sridhar (Rekha's husband), is here with our concluding anniversary post. Sridhar is a practicing architect in Bangalore and uses trademark design elements, usually stone cladding, courtyards and architectural columns in most of his projects. So we found it appropriate to ask him to do a post on courtyards in interiors. Read on....
-The Keybunch Team

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It has been a great year and I have truly enjoyed reading The Keybunch ever since its inception. Congratulations on the completion of a wonderful 1st year. It’s my privilege to be a guest writer on your anniversary, thanks for inviting me to do a guest post.

A Courtyard is an environment-friendly structure that speaks an aesthetic language in which nature is reinstated as a beneficent force in architecture. In it, the outdoor space is enclosed within the interior volume and involves almost all the green principles that occupy a great deal of discussion in architecture.

Residences without central courtyards can be planned for any diversity of plot dimensions, houses with lateral (sided) courtyards are similar in nature to central courtyard houses. However they differ in terms of the actual use of the courtyard as a living space.

In most cases I’ve found that creating an independent source of height in front of courtyard walls and /or in corners can create a 3d effect. In a sense, it makes the independent element a focal point while using the decorated walls as a backdrop or framework. Framing an element this way helps create depth of boundary behind that element.

Some good elements to use are small trees with tall trunks, tall pots, pots on stands, groups of pots, trellis works, and decor accessories.


The color of your walls also makes a big difference in the depth, atmosphere, and mood of the courtyard garden. Bright and light colors have a closed-in feel while darker colors add more depth and a sense of more space and distance.

I was unable to get hold of pictures of my other projects due to time constraints, probably the second anniversary post if invited, will have more. - Sridhar

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