The Upstairs House / Wahana Architects

Curated by María Francisca González

Architects: Wahana Architects
Area: 680 m²
Year: 2016
Photographs:Fernando Gomulya
Manufacturers: AGC, Acor, Alexindo, Andesite, Ariston, Bitumen, Merbau Wood, Mowilex, Parquete Engineering, Teak wood, Toto
Lead Architects: Rudy Kelana
Lighting Consultant: Infiniti Lighting by David Liming
Interior Consultant: Platform Architects

Text description provided by the architects. This tropical modern abode stands on 560 m2 corner plot in a townhouse complex, in South Jakarta. Located in a densely populated area and immediately adjacent to a busy road, with no interesting views on its surrounding, were the main challenges for the architect in designing this house. It is the wish of the owner to have a house that has a strong interaction with the natural surrounding environment and natural landscapes, just like a holiday resort.

They hope that the house will be a place where their close friends and families would come and gather on the weekend. These needs are the main idea for the designer in order to design the house. We took a different approach while designed this house. While many regular houses place the private areas on a higher level, we consciously have the private areas such as bedroom areas on the lower level. This decision made simply because of the daily activities of the owners and their children. So they can access their bedrooms directly after a long tiring day.

Entering this house, people will be brought directly to an open stair located next to a garden and a reflection pool. The entrance stair then leads to the Main Entrance area. The craftsmanship-which considered as the architectural practice in Indonesia- is strongly applied in this Entrance area, which is all covered with re-used waste teak woods. The usage of this material gives more depth and texture to the space. It creates a strong visual effect, producing a new experience from a wasted good treated in a new way.

The living room and dining room, along with other public areas which designed on the upper level, interestingly creates a more open and wide-feel space. This might help the usage of this area as a public space, to have a communal and gathering area. The Upper level which is surrounded with clear glass and partly covered with wood lattices also creates interspatial relations between the inside-the building and the natural surroundings.

On the lower level, the wood lattices on the corridor leading to bedrooms, allows natural air to breeze into this area. The sound of the water from the reflection pond next to the semi-outdoor corridor creates a strong resort-feel to this area. It helps people to calm their senses after tiring daily routines, leading them to their own resting areas.

The Upstairs House / Wahana Architects - Garden, Forest — © Fernando Gomulya

The children’s bedrooms are designed with connecting courtyards. These wooden-deck courtyards are filled with trees which grow through the void connected to the upper level. The presence of this courtyard is essential to the main concept of this building. On the other side, the main bedroom also has a courtyard with its own reflection pool and a vertical garden. This courtyard helps to give a non-formal feeling to the bedroom area while creating a serene atmosphere.

The courtyards and the natural surroundings which integrated to some rooms and the material selection of this building, fulfills the client’s need to have a house with Resort feel and Tropical touch in the middle of a densely populated area. The courtyards and the landscapes not only become the main orientation of this house but also become an extension function space from the inside area.