Steel gives industrial appearance

Maria Endah Hulupi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The steel house was meant to be an experimental and cheap project for architect Ahmad Djuhara. Located on a small lot in a typically crowded neighborhood in the Jati Makmur area of Pondok Gede, Bekasi, the house's reconstruction made use of used materials sold in the capital's flea markets.

Before the renovation, the old single-story house occupied most of the 117-square-meter plot of land, leaving only a little space for the front garden. It was knocked down, with only the foundation and septic tank left.

The result? It has been turned into an industrial-looking three-story steel house.

"I designed the house to provide a cheap solution for the middle class living in the capital's urban areas. The initial budget for the renovation project was Rp 30 million (US$3,333)," Djuhara said.

Materials for the project came from flea markets in Pedongkelan, West Jakarta, and Manggarai, South Jakarta, where second-hand steel and ceramics can easily be found.

"Zinc and steel are cheaper compared to concrete and they are easy to work with, too," he explained.

Steel was mainly used for the house's structure. Zinc-alum, which is zinc combined with aluminum for durability and rust prevention, and glass were used for the walls, iron for the railing, and ceramic tiles and teakwood for the floor. Basically, he used every kind of material, he could easily obtain.

"If necessary, all the items could be purchased at the nearest flea market or store selling second-hand goods," he explained.

At the flea market in Manggarai, Djuhara spent only Rp 4 million to buy all the ceramic tiles, toilets and wash basins for the house's three bathrooms.

However, the project's expenses doubled the amount projected for the initial budget, and reached a total of Rp 75 million.

"The reason that we exceeded the budget was we had to do the terrace as well. The glass for the rear walls, which was added later, was quite expensive. We also had to buy some new material as we could not find what we needed at the flea market," Djuhara said.

The renovated house has five bedrooms, including a master bedroom on the third story, three bathrooms, a living room, a family room and a kitchen.

The service area was built at the front of the house to give the servants easy access to that area and also to give the owners some privacy when spending time at the rear of the house.

"If the service area was in the rear, it would occupy more space and would usually be crammed with useless things," Djuhara explained.

The house's main entrance is through the garage and the guests can be received in the seated area next to the garage or the garden. "The second and third stories are reserved only for the family," he explained.

The house's strong industrial look can be softened with wood, including for the floor, windows and wall paneling, while the glass wall is meant to give a far-reaching view of the rear garden from the staircase inside, while at the same time giving a more sophisticated touch to the exterior.

Comments from his colleagues at the Association of the Indonesian Young Architects were taken as compliments as they teased him, saying that the house was not cheap due to using the optimal apportionment for each room and a relatively large rear garden at 36 square meters. Both are considered luxuries for such a small house.

His choice of materials also challenged the public opinion that zinc would trap heat inside the house. His reply to that assumption was "the only way to find out is by going there and spending some time inside the house during midday".

He said the heat could escape through the top ventilation. To improve air circulation, insulation was added to the bedrooms' outer walls.

The house requires little maintenance: only daily mopping and sweeping and a periodic coating of anti-rust solution on the zinc-alum wall.

For lighting, the architect focused on providing adequate illumination from neon lights for both the exterior and interior.

"Lighting was set up in places to allow it to be easily changed and since the distance from the floor to the ceiling is relatively low at only 2.25 meters, the lights are set into the ceiling so that people won't bump into them.

"The lighting was arranged in such a way as to soften the house's rigid look during the evening."

Because people from outside the house could see through the glass wall, Djuhara said the house owners could use a wooden screen not only to conceal the staircase inside but also to radiate a warmth to both the interior and exterior of the house.