Flat hunting in Chennai usually comes down to focus on two things. Those are square footage and the rate per square foot. Neither tells a buyer how the home will feel once the sofa, the dining table and the children’s cycles are in. That depends on proportion on how wide a room is against how long, how much window each wall carries, and how many families share the plot.
Raunaq Boutique Homes plans its projects around those ratios, and Kilpauk shows why they matter. Old bungalow plots there are being redeveloped one at a time, so builders in Kilpauk face the same choice on every site on how many homes to fit, and how much open ground to leave around them.
A ratio, not a square footage
Even two equal-sized flats could be totally different from each other. For example, a flat of 10ft x 20ft will give the feeling of a hallway where there is just a sofa towards the end of the hallway. On the other hand, a flat that is slightly bigger, 13ft x 16ft, may have the same furnishings but enough space to move around. The square footage is printed in brochures while the residents are living by the ratio.
The Model Building Bye-Laws of India state that the window opening should be not less than one-tenth of the room’s floor area and a height for the habitable room of 2.75 meters. Ratio-based approach begins with these minimums and questions the possibility of enjoying the room at 4 p.m. in May.
Starting with the land: Emerald, Kilpauk
Emerald, completed in 2021, shows a plot-first decision clearly. Six 4 BHK homes, of about 2,184 and 2,390 sq ft, sit on roughly 0.3 acres. That’s around 13,000 sq ft of land for six families, or close to one home’s floor area of land per home.
On a central Chennai plot, the pull is always toward the maximum floor area the rules allow. Holding at six means fewer cars at the gate and more room for setbacks and planting. Homes per acre is a figure worth asking builders in Kilpauk for before comparing price per square foot.
Sun, sea breeze and the Chennai floor plan
West-facing buildings get the full blast of the sun afternoons, when Agni Nakshatra occurs in May. Sea breezes blowing from the Bay of Bengal come from the east and south-east in the afternoon hours, and are accessible to any building only if there is passage through the building.
The Raunaq Boutique Homes has an approach to architectural design based on natural lighting and ventilation, and their Avinya housing project in Chromepet is described as being essentially Vaastu-compliant. In this city, natural lighting and Vaastu are frequently compatible, as east-facing openings let in gentle morning sun, and a living room with openings on both sides allows the breeze to pass through in the evening. Orientation is easier for real estate developers in Chennai in the early design phase, and very difficult after construction.
Small numbers, on purpose
Raunaq Boutique Homes is the real estate arm of Raunaq Group, a family business with roots in steel. The homes business began in 2012 and is led by Raunaq Rungta, with Chartered Accountant Rochan Rungta alongside him. In 14 years it has delivered over 500 homes and about 6 lakh sq ft, with completed projects from Adyar to Anna Nagar and Tambaram. It is a member of CREDAI.
Lists of Chennai reputed builders tend to lead with volume, and by that measure Raunaq is deliberately small. The unit counts show where the priority lies: Emerald has 6 homes, Eden Villas Phase II has 14 and Avinya has 49. Low numbers leave room to fit each plan to its plot.
Checking proportion on any floor plan
Proportion is not something difficult to evaluate without an architect in the family. Measure the ratio of the length to the width of the room; the room begins to appear narrow beyond 1.5. Evaluate the proportion of the area of the windows to the floor of the bedroom, knowing the fact that the area of one-tenth is just the minimum requirement. Find out about the walls which face west and what rooms lie behind them. Evaluate the number of houses per lift, and visit at around 4 p.m. This is quite reasonable to ask of the Chennai reputed builders as well as new ones.
The plan comes first
Proportion doesn’t usually figure into an advertisement as it is difficult to capture on film. Proportion manifests years down the line when the living room remains spacious despite the doubling of its furniture, and the bedroom remains tolerable until May. Among real estate developers in Chennai, those who deserve a revisit know why each room is designed the way it is.
