In Kadirur, Kannur, LIJO.RENY.architects has shaped a family home around courtyards, exposed laterite walls and a terracotta screen, unapologetically modern in form but rooted in northern Kerala.

On the banks of the Manimalayar River in Thiruvalla, LIJO.RENY.architects has built a stone-and-concrete home that stays closed to the street, opens fully to the water, and has riverfront steps designed to flood in the monsoon.