A house in Java, Indonesia

[eclipse]

Recently this year, I have accomplished a house building. I have worked on the design process last year. I'd like to show you the plan, and the sketchup drawing images.

My client was pretty satisfied with sketchup drawing, because it was easy for us to explore room by room in the house before it's built. They are man and wife aged about 30 something, with 3 small kids (merry kids!)

For me, it is something quite personal to have this house built, for this is the project that I have followed until it's finished. Right from the early sketches, the process was an enjoyment. The client is a nice person and we have a good conversation. I was with every detail of the house, like helping the owner to choose the flooring, the paint, or the stones for the terrace floor. I was also visiting the site quite often, and talk to the builders directly.

I am a 'learning' type of architect, for everything that I do in this profession, I do in my most appeal to learn from every aspect. Therefore I'd like to learn more from you guys, in case I can find something for me to learn from you

[tdmc]

perhaps tell us a little more about the project - how it came about, context/location, design issues

[eclipse]

this is the plan of the ground floor

Let me translate this for you;
Teras = Terrace
carport = carport
r. tamu = living room
kolam ikan = fish pool
r. keluarga = family room
dapur = kithen
r. makan = dining room
taman = innercourt garden
r. tidur utama = main bedroom

and the small room between r. keluarga and r. tidur utama is a toilet/bathroom

[eclipse]

this is the first floor

k. anak 1 = kid's room 1
r. duduk = family room / sitting room
k. anak 2 = kid's room 2
KM/WC = toilet/bathroom
jemur = area to dry washed clothes

[eclipse]

about the project - how it came about, context/location, design issues

My client happened to find that my previous projects are interesting, so he contact me and asked me wether I can design a house on his site in a housing complex in Malang, Indonesia.

My concern is about the site, was quite small, 12 x 14 m2, and the government's rule have decreased the possible building only 8 x 10 m2. The owner wanted to have more rooms than what I have designed, but then it was what we could achieve.

If you want to know the site, follow this .kmz file;

[eclipse]

This is the facade of the house, after the owner moved in.
In this view, we can see that the shading device on this facade was not there (upper left window). The owner consider it is not necessary, even though it's facing west (the sun shine from the east to west. We are at the equator). But after that I know that the air inside is still normal, not hot as I suspect.

If we open the door (3 m high), We will find a living room with a void relate the living room with first floor. It's a kind of wind tunnel, that I think it works well to support air flow.

Air flow is not windy inside, just soft air flow. good enough for humid air. I also consider this much. There's no air conditioner, from the first chat with the owner.

[eclipse]

family room, upstairs

[eclipse]

Addition to site setting;
Climate is warm, tropical climate. Sun is shining all year round.
The fresh air is important because it is humid. But because the city is mountaneus area, it is considered cold, compared with other cities in Java, like Jakarta or Surabaya.

My intention was to keep the air flowing by providing sufficient ventilation and windows that are easily opened to achieve desired air flow. Decision about ventilation was based on my experience and knowledge from other projects before I designed this one.

Some changes from the original design happened at the process of construction.

[Mclaren]

Are these pictures real or rendering? looks too perfect

[eclipse]

The project is already built. So, it's a photograph.
Unfortunately, because I am not so good in rendering

[nicholas]

Well done avoiding mechanical air conditioning can you tell us more about the vents at ceiling level as seen in the front facade? I have been exploring the idea of fixed glass with separate ventilation for a project...

[eclipse]

Hopefully this will work to give you more idea.
The windows here are seperated from the ventilation at the ceiling level, because I want only the hot air rising from sorrounding space, will come out or neutralized by cold air from outside.

I avoid making ventilation at human height level, because too much flowing air is not really good for human body. So I want this wind tunnel (you can see from the picture below, that it is a void. There's living room below the void) to work at highest level, at the ceiling level. I think it works well.

[eclipse]

please see the kmz file above if you want to understand more about the site.
This is the side facade;

There's something I want to share here;
the owner, instead of drying their washed clothes upstair at the proper place, sometimes dry their clothes outside house as you can see in picture below, they put it outside (under the vertical window).

So, this is for me is something unique. The wife said the clothes don't dry so quickly upstairs.

:rolleyes:

Some addition, like gardening, is not yet done to the site. I have suggested them to use more plants. They hire a garden contractor for that.

[eclipse]

This is the interior of the family room downstairs. I personally like the stair area.
The picture show one of their child on stairs.

[eclipse]

Waiting for opinion... or critics

[tommyoh]

Hi eclipse, thanks very much for posting your project. Great work!

I was just wondering about the room layouts, there is, in my opinion, a strange dynamic there with the living / family rooms and the bedrooms.

Its probably a cultural thing, but i find it odd that the ground floor has the living room (r. tamu ) the family room (r. keluarga) and the main bedroom (r. tidur utama) and the first floor has the family room / sitting room (r. duduk) and the other bedrooms (k. anak )
whats the difference between the living rooms and the two family rooms?

It would be great if you could post a section or two to explain a bit more how the air floor works through out the building.

Was there any planning restrictions regarding the treatment of the facade, or was white render always your intention?

The pictures show the inside to be very light and spacious which isnt something i got from the plans, well done!

[eclipse]

yes, in here, family rooms is where the family gather. Family is very important in here, that there should be family room for all member to join for activities. Like in this house, you can see there is a TV set in the family room.
They usually gather at night or day and watch TV together, talk about small things like what the wife cook today, or wether the kids argue with their neighbour friends this day.

Living room is a place to welcome guest, there's a hierachy in Javanese culture that not everyone can enter family room, but very often whenever any guest coming, the owner will send them in (even for a while) in the living room, welcome them with a little chat, and if you happen to visit any house in Java, especially in villages, they will welcome you even they don't know who you are. This is usually a room for families to show their most welcome ambience, placing decorations and family heirlooms...

Here I can show you the situation inside the living room, where guests will sit. In this photo situation, I open the partition between living room and family room, which devide both room as needed. Not really a closed partition because it covers only half of the doorway.

You can see that even this room is small, it has a very important role in hierachy, a semi public space in the house.

[eclipse]

I personally like white paint, combine it with cream colors, creating warm spaces. There is also black and brown colors which are cold to the eyes, making a contrast. The houses nearby also painted mostly in white. It's not really of a strong preference. I just follow an intuition that white will look apropriate to the environment.

[tommyoh]

Thanks for the explanation about the plan.

What are those little square boxes beside the door in the picture in post #17, are they air vents or windows?

[eclipse]

Hi Tommyoh,
Little boxes beside door are permeable vents, with frames for screen to stop mosquitos to come in to the room at night