Quaint and slightly unusual – if you compare it with other houses in the upscale neighbourhood of Bangsar – this 50-60’s terrace house is revamped to include two “mirrored” units of a three-storey family house. On top of this, there is a compact single storey unit for the caretaker tucked at the back of the house that can be accessed via the back alley.
The architectural team from Tetawowe Atelier explains further: “This project aims to explore a new housing typology to accommodate the young working class adults who can’t afford to own a house due to soaring property prices in Kuala Lumpur. Hence we incorporated a unique concept to encourage young adults to share land with another individual, without sacrificing their privacy and the needs of having comfortable space for a home. It’s a challenging project because we have to deal with very narrow space measuring less than 10’ in width after doing away with the walls and structures.”
To create a series of airy spaces, the architectural team designed vertical connected spaces by dissecting the internal spaces with multiple split levels and using a single staircase to connect them all. In addition, to further visually extend the space, the house is designed to appear as “light” as possible with a palette of light colour finishes and thin metal structures. Plenty of openings were also utilised to ensure the house is well lit with natural daylight.
“On the front facade, the multi-decks structure is created with cat ladders so that the mezzanine study deck is connected externally to the bedroom above,” the team elaborates. “This deck also functions as a floating garden for the house, with potted plants and creepers growing on the decks and screens. Furthermore, this structure also breaks the symmetry of the house and makes the two mirrored units appeared as one.”
