Roof House
This is one of those houses which we design for a young family, of about 300 m2 and built for under RM1 million – in one of the many suburbs in Kuching. The site is a typical developer sub-divided plot without many redeeming qualities nor views, excepts for their neighbours’ fences. From the first floor however, and beyond the housing estate views of distant low mountains in the west can seen.
The design started with the notion of a simple structural frame topped with a large roof - a metaphor for the family, its members and their activities under the shelter of an over-protective roof. We used a simple 4 x 4.5 m structural grid is used to simplify the construction and to devise the layout – which is a series of served and service spaces. The served spaces are mostly along the north facing side of the house, where a generous roof overhang provides a shaded outdoor space.
The served spaces are on the south side, confined to a narrow band of about 3 m to simplify services routing. On the ground floor, it opens onto a service and drying yard - a buffer from a 3-storey neighbour.
An open sided courtyard is carved out from the building envelope to provide natural lighting, airflow and views for the living spaces and entrance hallway. The courtyard also provides physical separation of the guest (mother-in-law) room from the main living spaces. The guest room is self contained, and expressed as a low block stretching across the front of the house with its lines continuing to the car porch.
The living spaces on the ground floor is one space, from the courtyard to the living and dining ending in a garden terrace for outdoor meals.
The storey heights are relatively low at 3.5 m and 2.8 m; this is adequate as the ground floor's ceiling is the soffit of first floor slab while the first floor ceiling is vaulted following the roof profile. This gives opportunities for the internal spaces to be visually linked, adding expanse and interest to the interior spaces. Externally, this also allows the spaces to be expressed as individual forms tucked beneath the roof's simple lines and form.
We see this as a modern interpretation of the tropical family home; compact planning with a good balance of indoor and outdoor spaces, well defined spaces without compartmentation and straightforward construction using local materials.
Text by the architect
PROJECT GALLERY
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Architect : MinWee Architect
Client : Adeline and Alvin Tan
Area : 300 m²
Project Location : Kuching | Sarawak
Year : 2019 -
C&S Engineer : Wee Hii Khoon
Contractor : R.A.K. Development & Construction Sdn Bhd
Design Team : Wee Hii Min | Claudia Law
Photography : Sean Wee | Lionel Kueh -
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