Bridging the elements

Maria Endah Hulupi, Contributor/Jakarta

Using creative license with textures and colors in both the interior and exterior can give a different feel to a house, without resulting in an architectural hodgepodge.

This is true in a newly built modern house in East Jakarta, where textures and colors dominate both the interior and exterior, such as the use of layered walls to create interesting and stylish living quarters.

The exterior has a rigid geometric feel with its rectangular- shaped windows, doors and different colored sections at the front. Inside, the elements used melt that feeling away, fostering a clean cut, functional and light interior.

For the home, standing on a plot 11 by 21 meters, young architect Edwin "connected" the indoor and outdoor by bringing in coarse looking surfaced walls, commonly found in the exterior, into the interior.

He also used a wall from the rear part of the house that protrudes into the dining room.

"I obscured the exterior, intermediate and interior approach through the finishing (using a coarse looking wall for the interior). This way I can give accents to the interior as well."

In designing the house, the architect aimed at creating a budget design which is as simple and efficient as possible without sacrificing esthetic concerns.

Due to space limitations, circulation in the interior was carefully planned so it can smoothly flow from one room to another without having to allocate space for a corridor.

For the staircase area, the architect created a curved, gritty textured wall, painted in a terra-cotta color. This curved wall is in contrast to the straight ones, helping it stand out in the house's public areas. The wall is central because it can be seen from various angles.

"It (the wall) was designed as focal point so I used a different texture, material and a darker color," Edwin said.

Just above the staircase area, there is a skylight from which the daylight leaves an interesting shadow to the coarse wall as the day progresses to evening.

In the house, the architect also incorporated a hint of Japanese influence in the layering of walls. The walls can be dense, transparent or semitransparent.

He chose steel and timber as materials for a bridge, which is designed on the upper floor to connect a bedroom with a study area.

"The bridge was against the wishes of the owner's parents. For it is considered unsafe, especially for a family with children, but we took everything into account, especially safety."

Huge windows in the sitting/family room and next to the dining room allow daylight to illuminate the interior, while providing a view from the rear yard and the small dry garden.

The rear garden, adorned with heliconia plants, can also serve as an extension of the dining room -- useful when organizing a gathering -- while the narrow side garden is simply planted with decorative leaf plants and covered with loose stones.

Edwin chose low maintenance basic materials suitable for a tropical house, such as aluminum for the window frames, timber, glass and plastered walls. The use of both fabricated and natural materials results in an exciting, modern feel.

"Everything is practical and needs low maintenance because the owners are a young couple who are busy with their own routines," he explained.

The architect said that the furniture, the colors and the use of curtains for some windows were selected during the development phase by the couple. "They wanted to keep the interior consistent with the overall design concept."

In fact, the architect only created the design layout and the couple built the house themselves with his guidance.

"They did everything, (starting) from buying the materials. I introduced them to skilled workers to build the house. They didn't hire a contractor to save money," Edwin said.

The house design, the architect recalled, was made based on interviews with the couple and a few other family members. The couple had even started out their own design exploration before the project began, taking pictures of houses in different parts of Jakarta that they considered conformed to their wishes.

An unexpected encounter with Erwin ended the couple's search.

"I noticed a man in a car driving down the street staring at my house. One day he introduced himself and after learning that I was the architect who designed my own house, he was elated. A few weeks later, we started working together," Erwin said.