Problem solved in creating a home comfort zone
Maria Endah Hulupi The Jakarta Post Jakarta
Call it the day-after blues: The initial excitement of securing a piece of land of their own can quickly be overshdowed by a feeling of disheartenment for some prospective home owners.
It was the situation faced by a couple who bought a plot in Ragunan, South Jakarta, who feared that various unforeseen problems might thwart their dream of creating a comfortable, healthy house.
Problem number one was the owners' ignorance of the government's regulation on setback lines, regulating the permitted distance between a house and the street.
It meant a significant decrease in the original building site. The property's 15 x 30 meters (450 square meters) only had an effective building site of around 4.5 x 22 meters (99 square meters) under the regulation.
Another problem was that part of the property had been used as a dump by local residents.
The owners hired architect Adi Purnomo to help them accomplish their plan to build their home by overcoming the difficulties and not creating any additional ones in the process.
"My plan was to design a realistic home without sacrificing the house owners' needs amid the unfavorable conditions," Adi said.
The result is a comfortable two-story house that perfectly blends in with its surroundings. The narrow, rectangular house is an architectural bridge between the plush residences at one end of the main street and simple, kampong-style dwellings at the other.
There are three bedrooms, including a master bedroom; a multifunction room that serves as a living room, sitting area or family room; dining room; kitchen; study; garage and service area; and servant's bedroom.
Considering the space limitations, most areas in the house are designed to ensure flexibility in accommodating other functions.
"Even the garage can also serve as a play area during the day and the garden can transform into a playground for children in the neighborhood," Adi said.
The front gate leads to the garage, and on the right is the entrance door to the multifunction room where the owners can receive their guests.
"The service area is designed for the first floor, and the second floor is for the owners to maintain their privacy," Adi said.
In order to create a spacious impression, the architect used large windows and glass doors along the front side of the house to provide clear views to the garden.
The large windows allow for natural sunlight and are opened for good ventilation. For optimal use of the building site, Adi designed cantilevered balconies on the second floor.
Main materials used to build the house include glass, parquet to line the first floor, timber for the railings and staircase, tiles for the second story and metal for the roof.
"There is a gap between the metal roof and the house wall from which fresh air penetrates and heat escapes from inside the house," Adi explained.
The front garden is planted with tropical plants, like bamboo and philodendron, but Adi said the owners also planned to grow other plants like mango and banana trees.
"I encouraged them to create a small yet lush bamboo forest, which will help screen the house from passersby on the street and provide a little greenery for the interior."
The house owners also decided to set aside a piece of their land as a temporary disposal site to help solve the neighborhood garbage problem. The dump, Adi explained, was relocated away from the house living space to a corner near the street.
"A properly planned landscape arrangement, like planting tall trees along the fence, spares the house owners from the unfavorable sight of the dumping area," he said.
Fragrant plants have been planted around the dump, and it is doused with water at garbage removal time.
"But (managing) this site requires local responsibility and participation to keep the dump neat and unoffensive. This way it won't pollute the air or be an eye-sore."