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J Residence

PROJECT TYPES

YEAR

LOCATION

2018

Jakarta, Indonesia

Residence; Built

The residential site of central Jakarta is characterized as a series of narrow and deep rectangular shape.


As the narrow side of the site is on the front road side, when the building is actually seated, only the short side of the elevation is exposed from the entrance road, which is likely to lead to a design emphasizing frontality of the residence. In fact, it is the typical scenery of the area that shows only series of narrow elevational compositions configured with fence and frontal surfaces of the house.


We have started from how we can reveal the stereoscopic aspects of the house. A part of the front elevation is taken out to set back and the second floor mass that are not parallel to the road are projected out and recognized as a volume. While this approach may seem new to the area, it is obvious that it made a difference to the streetscape around the site.

It was also one of the key interests from the beginning that the travel in the direction of the long side from the entrance can be a significant architectural experience in this kind of land. It was intended for occupants to walk around many corners and navigate multi-leveled spaces through the nature until they arrive at the final destination, the living and dining area.


Triangular cut in the roof and an outdoor court garden inserted in the middle of the house also give variations to volumes laid out on the site, which eventually make indoor spaces animated.  In order to locate the outdoor programs like pool and gardens as close as possible to the living space, they dig into the mass and create a tight relationship with spaces around them.


The pool is closely surrounded by the living room right next to it and the master bedroom cantilevered out directly above. They create intimacy and coziness by being connected visually and physically. Main living room integrated with dining and kitchen area is also enclosed by pool and the court garden which draws a lot of light deep into the house.  Second floor library is connected to living room by opening above. As a result, a variety of complex residential programs are stacked up three-dimensionally in a narrow and deep site but still have rooms to breathe and to feel the openness. That’s the significant strategy of how to convert the unfavorable site condition to more reasonable one.


The main stair is sitting in the center and trying to make people walk as much as possible to experience space with nature everyday.  On the third floor, the triangular roofs were used for high ceiling rooms such as an indoor driving range, a gym and a theater. The stunning view from the terrace and the gaze overlooking the gym from the street serve as the main role of the third floor as objects on top.

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