Wahana Architects redesigned the DeeRoemah renovation of a two-storey in a busy midtown of Jakarta

Architects: Wahana Architects
Location: Jakarta, Indonesia
Year: 2015
Area: 2.110 ft²/ 196 m²
Photo courtesy: Fernando Gomulya
Description:

“Located in a rather busy midtown of Jakarta, DeeRoemah is a renovation project of a two-storey house on a 280 m2 irregular shaped site which comprises of 1 master bedroom, 3 child/guest bedrooms, living room, dining room, kitchen, office and storage.

Recognizing the potential of the surprisingly serene neighborhood, an honest design approach was developed for this particular project. The design should be humble and merge with its neighborhood. The main idea is simply to conserve the existing mass and modify it by utilizing the space under the roof on one side of the L-shaped building as a full story – letting it ‘naturally fit’ the urban setting.

On the first floor, the living room, dining room and kitchen are designed as transparent as possible towards the surrounding outdoor garden in which the existing trees are preserved to blur the inside-outside boundary, whilst each of every bedroom has the view of a small courtyard.

The semi public office on the second floor, which can only be accessed by the outdoor twirled stairs, also adapt the same level of openness as it is surrounded with clear glass looking through the terrace and garden. A see-through wooden plane (which is from re-used material of the waste from Furniture Factory) is positioned diagonally at one end as a natural shade where its honest craftsmanship accentuates the silhouette of a ‘kampong’ house. It also works as a building skin to cover inside the office activity from the outside and neighborhood.

Supporting the concept, the range materials used for this project were simplified. The cement-textured finish dominates the entire house with a hint of raw wood detail on the façade and metal for the outdoor staircase.

The need of railing was decoyed by a gray planter box with dangling vegetation while to compress the actual height of the house, a new contoured garden was reset. The landscape element is effortlessly used to soften the whole design.

The main concern of this project is the client’s budget and the neighborhood. The solution we took is to preserve the existing concrete structure and re-use some of the materials. This will cut the budget while also can work so that the new and renovated house not so-far different with its ‘kampong’ like neighborhood.

There are existing trees in the previous house that we preserve and integrate in the new design. The landscape and hardscape of this project really help to create an interesting ambience inside the house. It creates shades for the building while creating mood inside the house and living area.

The project is located at a tropical climate in Indonesia. It is important for the house to have a cross ventilation to keep up with the humidity while also use the passive energy. On daily basis, the glass doors and window are open. The natural air breezes in to the house. And the clear glass and skylight works well to insert the natural light all day long. The vertical garden and wooden panel help to create shades inside the house.

The re-used materials such as clay roofing and wooden panel on the façade of the building help the building to merge with its natural surrounding and its neighborhood. The newly construct upper level looks no different than the houses and other houses on neighborhood from the outside. The building holds critical cultural standpoint in the neighborhood. It is important so that the building and its habitant can communicate in the new area and creates no cultural and economical shocks that may appear, to the neighborhood.”