A major part of the Indian residential architecture depends on the climate of the region.

Regions like Rajasthan or Tamil Nadu that are known to experience high temperatures, often have a central courtyard or an aangan, with rooms built around it. These houses are designed to have a front and a backdoor to allow cross ventilation of air, in turn resulting in decreased temperatures indoors.

These courtyards that were planned to help the houses cool down, became the center of every household's daily chores and activities. With the number of members increasing, these houses were designed to have two storeys. In certain regions, the central courtyards had roofs that allowed sunlight to pass through. But, in certain regions these roofs were not seen, for example in the regions like Rajasthan.

With increase in the general population, the concept of horizontal living started to fade and vertical residences started to gain acceptance. With this change, the traditional houses with a courtyard in the center started to fade out and became a rare sight in the past couple of decades.

But, to our good luck, current residential trends are moving towards a neo-modern design that ought to be more in touch with nature and traditional concepts, giving an updated revival to the traditional houses!