IPCW Residence
IPCW RESIDENCE
Ivan Priatman Architecture
YEAR
2013
LOCATION
Indonesia
CATEGORY
Houses
Text description provided by architect.
The IPCW Residence is a residence for a young family of 4 in Surabaya.The brief for the design calls for a courtyard house with indoor-outdoor living spaces.
The site is a rectangular 464 m2 corner lot located in a new residential development in the west of the city, in a condition best described as semi-urban, where houses are grouped in clusters and share a party wall with each other.
This architectural concept unfortunately mandates a long thin mass which would not fit the site that is relatively square in proportion.
The continuity allows the whole house to be experienced in one continuous sequence starting from the most public area (the main entrance) gradating to the most private area (the master bedroom).
By using natural ventilation and by the orientation of the house, the use of air conditioning, which has become a mandate for all living spaces in Surabaya's hot and humid weather, is significantly minimized.
As a solution that becomes the parti model of the house, the elongated mass is folded several times to create an angular yet continuous spiral, that then also define the central courtyard of the house.
The thin floor plan also allows for ample daylighting and further energy savings. The house uses a reinforced concrete structure with Autoclaved Aerated Concrete brick walls.
Nevertheless, the aerated concrete walls are used in this house to provide greater insulation against heat and sound, and also are helpful in reducing the structural load of the building. Solid wood floors are used throughout the interior of the house.
The notion of indoor-outdoor living and continuity between inside and outside is also a characteristic of the traditional architecture.
The constrained palette of white walls and clear glass as exterior finishes make the house stand in stark contrast with the surrounding neighborhood of custom designed, eclectic houses.
Modern house in the tropical climate. While many facets of the house are visibly modern in an international sense (white walls, flat roofs, lots of glass), the tropical reinterpretation is less apparent, yet very much present.
The house is a rethinking and reinterpretation of the Vernacular architecture in the region shows deep overhangs of roofs to shade the interior from the sun and rain.
The partly shaded swimming pool provides an additional psychological cooling effect to the indoor environment while also creating a feeling of serenity to the living and dining area.
While the first floor is mainly rectangular to maximize space, the second floor is at an angle. The thin massing with operable openings on opposing sides allow for cross ventilation.
The courtyard and the swimming pool becomes an extension to the living room. When doors are opened, the side yard, the living area, and the courtyard becomes one connected indoor-outdoor living space that is naturally ventilated.
The floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors around the house's primary living area blur the boundary between indoor and outdoor, bringing the natural environment inside and creating an indoor-outdoor living.
Tropical landscaping is designed both in the side yard and also the courtyard not only to create privacy and spatial separation from the street but also to create a microclimate.
While reinforced concrete structure is the common building tradition in Indonesia, the use of aerated concrete walls for private houses is not.
Brick walls are the most commonly used materials due to the cheap cost and greater availability.
Antithetical to the typical middle-upper class house where a void is usually placed indoors above the living room to make the house appear grander, here the void is placed outside in the form of the courtyard to signify a paradigm shift that places nature in a more central role in residential family living.
This house recreates these vernacular characters in a modern way, using the building itself to shade the living area on the first floor. T
