# The Vessel

Jellyfish Water Sports Club, Kerala. Kerala, India. Design: Collaborative Architecture.

The Vessel transforms a modest, single-story village house on the banks of a tropical river in South India into guest facilities for the Jellyfish Water Sports Club. The project reinterprets the existing structure through a measured architectural intervention, expanding its capacity and strengthening its relationship with the river landscape. Rather than treating the original house as a constraint, the design uses its material and spatial qualities as the foundation for a new hospitality experience, shaped by the rhythms of the river and the maritime culture of its setting.

## Key facts

- Location: Kerala, India
- Client: Jellyfish Water Sports Club
- Typology: Adaptive reuse, Hospitality
- Status: Detailed design
- 1 village house of laterite and concrete, reused
- 2 floors: club dining and lounges below, guest rooms above

## A house that meets the river

The reconfigured program places dining and lounge spaces at ground level, with guest accommodation above. An extension expands the building’s footprint, while a swimming pool traces its perimeter beneath a sequence of terraces oriented toward the river. Together, these elements establish a continuous relationship between interior spaces, outdoor living, and the surrounding landscape. The river becomes more than a backdrop: it informs the organization of the spaces and the experience of inhabiting the building.

## A village house remade

The existing house, constructed in laterite stone and concrete and organized around modest rooms, is adapted to accommodate its new hospitality function. The intervention builds upon the material character of the original structure while reworking its spatial organization to support a more expansive and interconnected way of living.

The swimming pool winds around the building, following its perimeter and creating distinct zones for children and adults. Its sinuous geometry softens the relationship between the built form and the landscape, introducing movement into the composition while extending the experience of the house outdoors.

## Credit for publications

The Vessel, Kerala. Design: Collaborative Architecture (https://collaborativearchitecture.com/work/the-vessel/)

Page: https://collaborativearchitecture.com/work/the-vessel/