Service areas are still to be confirmed and may change. The guides describe general building conditions in each place.
Kochi spreads across islands, backwater edges and a fast-growing mainland, so building conditions can change sharply from one neighbourhood to the next. Low-lying ground, a high water table and salt-laden air belong in the brief here as much as plot size and room count.
Thrissur district runs from a short coastline through rolling laterite midlands to the forested slopes of the Western Ghats. It has a strong tradition of tiled-roof houses, illams and nalukettu homes, a tradition that new houses can draw on while meeting present-day needs.
Kozhikode combines a busy coastal city with laterite hills and river valleys that climb towards Wayanad. Heavy monsoon rain, coastal humidity and sloping ground are the conditions most homes here have to be designed around.
Malappuram district stretches from the coast at Ponnani and Tirur, across laterite midlands, to the teak country around Nilambur at the foot of the Western Ghats. Many homes here are planned by families working abroad, which shapes how projects are briefed, approved and supervised.
Kannur district lies between a long, sandy coastline and the forested hills of the Western Ghats, with broad laterite plateaus in between. Heavy monsoons and plentiful laterite have shaped its houses for generations.
Kottayam sits between the Vembanad backwaters to the west and the rubber-planted hills of the Western Ghats to the east. Within one district a plot can be low-lying and flood-prone or perched on a laterite slope, and the design response differs accordingly.