Rumah Srengseng

Situated in a dense housing complex in Jakarta, the project concept emphasizes openness while considering the importance of privacy in a 700-square metre site. The client’s first brief was to limit land usage for building to provide maximum outdoor landscape capacity and the ease of planning future development. The presence of indoor landscape was also deemed necessary due to the users’ affinity towards plants and greenery in general.

As a result, the house is divided into three levels, with the first floor allocated only as a service area. The living room was deliberately located to occupy the second and third floors to maximize privacy. The house privacy is further maintained by placing several large windows strategically placed to face the side and back landscape. In contrast, the house’s front end only has three smaller windows divided between the second and third floors. In addition, a planter box acts as a sound buffer from the crowded surrounding is placed directly in front of the window on the third floor.

The living area layout design revolves around an open dry garden that maximizes direct sunlight into the house. A dry garden area is also used as the staircase placement. In future development, a tall tree of two levels height is planned to be planted in the planter box placed in the middle of the dry garden, making it one of the numerous house features. In addition, the third floor has a void looking directly into the dry garden.

The white wall paint finish was selected because it helps absorb and reflect daylight, making the rooms brighter and reducing the use of lighting during the daytime. The facade is composed of several orchestrated boxes with a combination of wood and stone to blend the house to the lush landscape surrounding it. The wood feel is achieved using a fibre-cement panel and galvanized steel screen attached to a black painted wall. The use of wood and natural stones from local suppliers was chosen to evoke the serenity needed as an escape from the bustling surrounding.