Swapnakoodu is an architectural manual that roams through the landscape of dream dwellings exploring habitats of  every size, style and budget; it is a construction guide which leads the viewers through the ABC of fabricating a house, from basic design to final finish. To be launched on February 12th, it will be telecast every Saturday at 12.30 noon.

Cast into 4 segments, each episode of Swapnakoodu introduces the viewer to a single residence which may be a cottage, an apartment, a villa, bungalow  or mansion that falls into low cost, medium budget or exclusive division categories. The episode presents the house from 2 different perspectives, the standpoint of the owner, the man in possession and the architect, the brains behind the structure.

The anchor shows the  viewers around the house, conducting them through the rooms to give them an idea about the layout of the building ;then settles down for a chat with the landlord, drawing him out about the master plan he had in mind, the alterations it had undergone, whether it was built  to plan or took on extensions, by how much it had overshot its initial estimates, the features that makes it exclusive, his favourite nook in  the house and most importantly, if the edifice measured upto his expectations or whether the final outcome had fallen short of his fantasies.

In the next segment, the architect who had given concrete shape to the owner’s ‘flight of fancy’ evaluates his handiwork, the way he had crafted the house to satisfy every demand of the client while staying within the budgetary boundaries, how the plan was adapted to the lay of the land, the design that gave the feeling of wide open spaces, the improvisation for the free flow of light etc.

The next part opens the door to new technologies of building construction such as interlocking  bricks, ecofriendly techniques of green buildings etc while Pazhama Peruma, the concluding part delves into the depths of tradition, examining the marvels of antique architecture such as Kuthiramallika, Padmanabhapuram Palace and so on.

Swapnakoodu  offers a wealth of options in plans, designs and layouts, a bounty of alternatives in colour schemes, floorings, fittings and furnishings that  suit  the purse and conform to the concepts of some who have attained their dream home but are embarking on modifications and of others for whom a nest of their own, is still a castle in the air.