An unobstructed view in an elite estate

An unobstructed view in an elite estate

Maria Endah Hulupi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Passing through the Pondok Indah area in South Jakarta, one can
quickly see the social status of the home owners. Most of the
houses are luxurious and modern.

But a two-story house in one of the most elite residential
areas in the capital looks very down-to-earth yet modern-looking.

Architect Irianto Purnomo Hadi made sure that the house would
capture the beautiful unobstructed east side view of the
surrounding area, offering a less hectic face of crowded Jakarta.

"It's a 600-square-meter plot of land but when you sit in the
family room and look out at the extensive view outside, you'll
have the feeling that the house stands on six hectares of land,"
he said, describing the effect of the surroundings.

The house is 1.5 meters higher than the road level. It is
taken up to create a split-level section and the architect also
created a twirling ramp entrance as an alternative to the main
entrance at the side of the car porch. The concrete twirling ramp
entrance is softened by adding a little green papyrus plant in a
huge terra-cotta pot.

"The ramp entrance also serves as a sort of 'decompression'
area as it helps untangle people's mind from the hectic
activities and traffic in the capital as they walk inside the
house," Irianto explained.

The house consists of four bedrooms, a family room and a
sitting room, a dining room, a pantry and a huge garage which can
accommodate the owner's four cars.

The family and sitting rooms are equipped with large glass
doors to give an optimum view from the east side, which, the
architect said, also helped him determine the positions of both
rooms.

Irianto used a lot of huge openings in different parts of the
house to accommodate the owners's fondness for a kampong-styled
home and its idyllic atmosphere.

"These openings help the owners to get optimal ventilation
inside the house and they can also enjoy the breeze without
having to install air conditioners," he said.

He also chose various earthy hues and used them for the
interior, like orange (for the upholstery), green (from indoor
plants) and other earthy tones (from the wooden frames and
terra-cotta ornaments).

Apart from radiating tropical warmth, the house's interior
elements were planned and arranged to provide the owners with the
feeling that they blend with and become part of the outdoor view.

"The furniture and the colors for the interior elements were
specially chosen and designed to meet that objective," said the
architect, who is also one of the founders of Arsitek Muda
Indonesia (the Young Indonesian Architects, better known as AMI).

Irianto also keeps the living room, the terrace and the green
grass in the garden smoothly spread in a continuous leveled area
to create an impression that these rooms are "united".

The main staircase is positioned at the center of the house
and is partitioned to the living and sitting rooms by an exposed
concrete wall. The latter was also designed in such a way to
provide the surrounding rooms with a sort of "anchor".

The staircase is crowned with a skylight to enable optimal
natural light to penetrate the area. And just like the staircase,
the house in general also receives plenty of sunlight during the
day as it can penetrate through the big glass doors and windows.

For the lighting, Irianto ensured proper illumination by using
indirect lighting that radiates from the sides of the ceilings,
floor lamps and table lamps.

"This helps the ceilings remain uncluttered and clean," he
said.