This two storey house is located in Serpong, Indonesia. The house is an amalgamation of an existing house and a new building at its adjacent 200 sqm empty plot. The building occupies only 150 sqm of the total 320 sqm land due to building regulations. It has a sloping roof to blend with the neighbourhood’ style and keeps its own identity by using fare faced concrete punctured by small glass incisions and openings towards the main road. Its inward orientation is played down with plenty of vertical ‘green’ walls providing a friendly gesture to an otherwise staid looking house.

The house is occupied by a three member family. The 5 year old boy with his playfulness influenced the design of the house by wishing for a slide. A sculptural concrete slide was placed tucked in the corner of the two buildings. The slide has become the little boy’s form of transportation from his bedroom, on the 2nd floor, to the dining room on the 1st, instead of using the staircase located between the small library and the living area. This slide also becomes the boy’s secret cave by covering it up with pieces of plastic and cloth on both ends. Apart from the bedrooms, the rest of the house is open plan and dominated by a white and grey palette.

Concrete has been chosen as the main building material because of its strength and flexibility. However it is considered a challenge for Indonesia’s tropical climate, as this material is heat absorbing. This was resolved by having a ten metre high ceiling, applying a special coating of heat resistant membrane on the external roof surface and covering the external wall with cripple plants. These reduce internal heat accumulation significantly. Natural ventilation and lighting are an important aspect of the house. All open plan spaces have no air conditioning systems, and dependent entirely on the openings and incisions between walls, windows and roof. Fresh air ventilation is generated by a series of ceiling fans suspended beneath the concrete roof. To generate an ever changing flow of air, some parts of the wall were built 40 cm apart allowing the creation of long vertical louvered windows. Big trees were planted and positioned strategically in the garden to provide shading during the day. These ‘low tech’ strategies provided simple solutions to problems occurring due to the extensive use of concrete.

ARCHITECT: Aboday, Jakarta, Selatan, Indonesia, www.aboday.com. LOCATION: Serpong, Indonesia. PROJECT TEAM: Ary Indra, Rafael David, Johansen Yap, Wahid Annasir, Armeyn Ilyas. DATE: 2010.

COPYRIGHT: Aboday. PHOTOES: Happy Lim.
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