The Edge Malaysia: Haven:Out With Conventions
By: Sreerema Banoo
Terraced category
Gold Award
Location } Subang Jaya, Selangor
Architect } Ar. Chan Mun Inn of Design Collective Architecture Network Sdn Bhd
What's apparent to anyone visiting this 2-storey terraced house in Subang Jaya is the absence of features one often associates with such abodes. With an abundance of light, cross ventilation and open spaces, this home fee;s more like a bungalow or a loft than a conventional link house. And that was precisely what the owners and architect were aiming for. Both Lim Sue May and her husband had grown up in terraced homes and disliked many of the features of such houses. "So we wanted to break free of some of the terraced house constraints, such as limited lighting and ventilation," she explains.
Break with conventions they certainly did, and the end result is not only refreshing but very bold. Here's why: The architect, Chan Mun Inn of Design Collective Architecture Network Sdn Bhd, shaved the number of rooms from four to just 1 1/2, essentially turning the house into a series of interconnected, open -really open- spaces. Chan also removed a floor from the first level and in so doing created a double-volume ceiling height for the dining space. He removed the ceiling of the first floor as well in order to expose the framed timber roof trusses. And as if all this wasn't striking enough, Chan created a courtyard, complete with a vertical garden boasting some 350 plants.
To put it in a nutshell, this isn't an ordinary 22ft by 75ft terraced house.
Granted, the house looks pretty much like the other properties in the neighbourhood from the outside, but its interior is all its own, especially its sense of space. When you step into the home, you don't see walls or a series of rooms and formal spaces. No, you're treated to an uninterrupted view of the whole house, from the living and dining spaces right to the expanse of green that is the vertical garden. This, says the architect, was the intent. "The minute you step into the house, you can see the entire 75ft (length) of the house and in that way you experience the whole space at a glance."
For Chan, whose architectural practice specializes in detached homes, the aim was to replicate the spatial qualities of a bungalow. Because a terraced house lacks the square footage of a detached unit, Chan focused on the quality rather than the quantity of space.
This does not mean the house, which boasts a built-up of 1.500sq ft, lacks the requisite spaces that make up a home. There is a comfortable living area, a generous dining space, a modest-sized kitchen, ample storage space, a guestroom, an entrance space that can double as a mahjong area and even a wet kitchen - all this on the ground floor. The floor plan and orientation of these spaces are such that you can view the entire house from just about any point in it, giving rise to a loft-like feel.
The first floor comprises only the master bedroom and bathroom as well as an open-air deck in the rear of the property which the owner uses as the laundry and drying area.
Some may consider the treatment of the first floor, indeed the whole whole, somewhat severe, but you have to acknowledge the fact that by focusing on the scale and proportion of the space, and prioritizing light and ventilation, the architect has significantly improved the spatial quality of the house.
When Chan broke down the walls and removed the rooms of the house, he removed some of the usual features of terraced houses - dark interior, poor ventilation and so on - at a stroke. "We wanted to see the sky and that's what we told Chan at the onset," says Lim.
Thanks to glass-panelled walls and strategically places transparent roof tiles, the house is bathed in light. "We wake up to the rising sun and at night there is the moonlight," Lim adds.
This abode was designed with the needs of the owners in mind. With only three occupants - the couple and their infant son Dylan - and the occasional visiting family member from out of town, the owners didn't need many bedrooms. The kitchen too is modest in size as the family prefer simple, light cooking. That said, Lim admits that the openness of the house means that the house is unforgiving when it comes to clutter - even the storeroom has a glass door. "So, this forces is to be disciplined when it comes to what we keep; it forces us not to hoard and to just use and keep what we need," she says.
A degree f restraint was also exercised when it came to the materials and colour, whether in the use of homogenous terrazzo for the flooring or the liberal use of white. Apart from painting the walls white, most of the furniture, whether permanent structures like the concrete benches than run along the entire side of the dining space and garden or the kitchen built-ins and fittings such as the lighting and blinds is also white.
While the colour choice certainly heightens the sense of space, interior designer Wong Pei San of Essential Design Integrated Sdn Bhd explains that white was also the most practical choice as it allowed touch-ups to be done without any fuss. "It's also a great canvas for introducing colour to the house," she adds. Here, colour has been introduced in the most unexpected ways - a bookshelf in the entrance foyer. The spines of the many paperbacks and hardcover books lining the shelves present a veritable rainbow of colours and a welcome distraction against the white.
While the owners confess to not being collectors of artwork, they do own a showstopper in the form of a raintree dining table. Fashioned from the trunk of a raintree, the dining table, which Lim was initially hesitant to acquire has become the focal point of the house. The table, that can comfortably seat 10 or more diners, is where the occupants and visitors congregate.
From here, you can take in the whole home, including the architectural details of its exposed timber trusses, but also the 20ft-high vertical garden. With more than 350 plants from seven species, this wall of green is a visual delight.
No wonder the owners find it difficult to tear themselves away from their home! For this young family, flouting conventions has certainly resulted in a home to be cherished and enjoyed
This article appeared in haven, Issue #44, August + September 2010, the deco and garden publication of The Edge Malaysia
