Hi everyone how's your day?
I'm currently reading an e-book that our professor provided to us. It's a collection of 25 Indonesian tropical houses, and I decided to write a house review. I haven't finished it yet, but I was able to write a review based on the three houses that I enjoyed. I'm thinking of producing a part 2 after I finish the book.
BUDI HOUSE
WUNGKAL, SEMARANG
ARCHITECT SARDJONO SANI
BIAS TEKNO-ART KREASINDO
I loved how the architect incorporated natural elements in his design. Reflecting water, wood, and stones contributed to a refreshing feel besides the ambiance that the chosen colors for the interiors and exteriors give. The glass windows also allowed for natural lights to enter the room which is amplified by the light color finishes. The size of the windows and spacious rooms also allowed passive air ventilation combined with the elements like water that contributes to the cooling effect. The orientation of the structure is also excellent which has a great view.
The sudden presence of a stunning composition of pristine forms on the Wungkal Hill surprises passers-by as well as the residents of Semarang, Central Java, which lies to the east, much like the revelations of the latest make of car at an automobile show. The three-story residence of automobile dealer Budi Taruno and his wife Lilly has been deliberately designed to reflect the owners’ obsession with the automobile: the sophistication of its engine and the elegance and aesthetics of its streamlined aerodynamic forms. The main components of the house, built of concrete, corrugated metal, and glass, are detached architectural elements that have seemingly been derived from the automobile engine.
Architect Sardjono Sani believes that every architectural creation is a unique response to a number of factors. Every site, client, program, and social and cultural context differs and, hence, the architectural outcome is truly unique. Above all, Sardjono avoids developing a particular “style” in his works, and this house, one of his most recent creations, is evidence of this philosophy.
STEEL HOUSE
BEKASI, JAKARTA
ARCHITECT AHMAD DJUHARA
DJUHARA+DJUHARA
What I like about this house is how the architect ingeniously used the materials in the construction of the house. Ahmad Djuhara’s Steel House, located in the midst of a modest housing estate in Bekasi, just east of Jakarta, offers a stark yet handsome middle-class housing alternative in present-day Indonesia. Through a compact and efficient design program constructed with recycled building materials, the architect managed to resolve the spatial and budgetary limitations which were major issues in the project.
On each of the floors of the three-story building, the right (west) side, which retains more heat during the day, is reserved for services. This arrangement also allows for the creation of spacious open living rooms on the left side, which is more exposed to the morning sun, and commands views of the open garden at the back. The use of recycled steel as the main building material, in combination with precast bricks, contributed to efficiency in construction time, labor, and materials, compared with the use of concrete, the most common building material used in the area, which would have required larger structural dimensions, longer setting and construction time, higher labor costs, and would have also produced more construction waste. Conscious that the heat-retaining metals might not be deemed suitable for use in the tropics, the architect used corrugated zinc sheets on a steel frame to create a plenum placed over the structure of the building to shield it from heat.
K RESIDENCE
PONDOK INDAH, JAKARTA
ARCHITECT PATRICK RENDRADJAJA
The dominant feature, indeed the central element, of the house is a double-height inner courtyard placed almost in the exact center of the house. All areas of the house, including the movement of the occupants, revolve around this inner courtyard which is enclosed by full height, wood-framed windows and doors. The courtyard allows light to reach every corner of the house, at the same time functioning as a kind of airshaft that provides cross-ventilation and animates air movement throughout all its rooms on both stories.
The elements such as the finishes and material were carefully used at specific rooms. The private spaces of the house are all located on the second floor. The stairs and corridors that lead up to them are highlighted with warm-colored materials and covered with wooden flooring, providing warmth to the areas of house that are meant to be more intimate, in contrast to the use of the rather hard materials and cold colors in the public areas of the house.
The sun shades let natural shards of light enter but also providing privacy. Three rooms on the second story project out beyond the steel frame. To ensure their privacy, the rooms do not have openings facing the street. Instead, small vertical windows at the corners of the projections allow some light to enter the rooms as well as limited views to the outside. Maybe the resident of the house does not stay much in their bedrooms that’s why the rooms did not have much fenestration for windows.
I wasn't able to attach pictures so if you are curious about what the houses look like here is the link to the book
Here are my previous articles:
Choosing Architectural Materials
Trying something new : The day I started learning watercolor
My father is a Policeman: A Moral Dilemma?
