Even in the heart of KL city, pockets of green spaces exist. In one of these lush green enclaves is the Kuala Lumpur House, designed by SCDA as a place of retreat from the hustle and bustle of the city.
Throughout the design process, the landscape, architecture and interiors keep the environment, culture and climate of the site well into consideration. Each component of the design is broken down to volume, line and plane, maintaining inspiration from classical architecture and design.
According to the architects, the Kuala Lumpur House is a sequence of both interior and exterior spaces, informed by light, material and the clarity of structure. “The façade of the residence is nothing other than structured and aligned. The rigidness of the architecture is contrasted with the materials and the proportions that clad building and wrap around the landscape. The linearity and proportions of the timber, stone, and earth, naturally create a composition that inclines to one’s own place making,” SCDA remarks.
One of the oustanding aspects of the house is how the spaces are meticulously crafted to address the tropical climate of Malaysia. For starters, the elements of the façade were carefully considered. The architects elaborate: “The form of the Kuala Lumpur House intends to re-imagine the concept of verandas. The depth of the window allows the home owners to take advantage of natural ventilations. The sliding screens are integral responses to tropical climates. The screens temper the heat and glare of the sun, as well as an element to interfere the play between opaque walls and transparent glass.”
Thanks to the inside out approach, the presence of nature is brought into the interiors via deep recessed windows warmed with timber panels and trimmed with aluminum complemented by linear glazing. This allows the warmth of the material to reache a transitional threshold between the interior and exterior.
In addition, the courtyards are experienced sequentially and hierarchically through a choreographed procession of the house. “The courtyards are designed to heighten to experience of the user with light, sound, touch, and sight. During the design phase of Kuala Lumpur House, we gave the architecture and court spaces equal importance. This plays a key role – not only does it allow for the architecture to inform the court yard space, but the courtyards can affect the form of the architecture. The imposition of the courtyards was a method to re-imagine living in the tropics through an exploration of negative space between interior and exterior spaces.” SCDA says.
