Design for a farm house in the hot dry climate of the Deccan Plateau, inspired by the sculptural stepped temple wells of South India, as an integral part of a passive cooling strategy. The open pit well is the source of life on the farm. Here the well becomes the center of the house and a part of the traditional courtyard. The displaced soil is used to create cool earth-sheltered rooms on the sides of the courtyard. A gazebo in the well functions as a pump house. A water tower across from the main structure of the house gravity feeds the farm as well as the house. Landscaping, including columnar trees, keeps, the courtyard and the well in shade