Monday 27 October 2008

Arte-Polis 2 – “Creative Communities and the Making of Place: Sharing Creative Experiences”



Date August 8 – 10, 2008
Venue Institute of Technology Bandung, Bandung, Indonesia
Organiser School of Architecture, Planning and Policy Development, Institute of Technology Bandung

The two-day conference was attended by approximately 250 participants with more than 80 paper presentations from 16 countries. The aim of Arte-Polis 2 was to bring together different professionals and leaders from various regions to share international experiences and knowledge regarding current issues, best practices and policy implications on the relationship between creative communities and place-making. A one-day design charrette on 10 August offered participants the opportunity to collaborate and engage in an action-oriented place-making session to propose strategies for community development of a creative cluster in Bandung.



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FuturArc is looking to profile 30 such individuals in its 2Q 2009 PEOPLE edition

Do you know someone or a group of people who has made a difference to be built environment in a socially driven way? S/he could be an architect, designer, engineer, policymaker, developer or academic. FuturArc is looking to profile 30 such individuals in its 2Q 2009 PEOPLE edition (to be distributed in March 2009)-we need your help to identify here... click here: http://www.futurarc.com/index.cfm# to nominate.

Thanks

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Friday 17 October 2008

PVC Pipe Shadow Play



PROJECT DATA
Project Name
Modern Java House
Location
Jl. Mawar No. 35 Cipete Selatan, Jakarta, Indonesia
Completion
23 June 2008
Site Area
324 m²
Gross Floor Area
364 m²
Number of Rooms
5
Building Height
12 metres
Client/Owner
Ir. Donny Dwinanto
Architecture Firm
Hand Architect Associates (Pinot Architecture)
Principal Architect
Ir. Nehemia Budi Setyawan
Main Contractor
Yudi Hermawan
Mechanical & Electrical Engineer
Yudi Hermawan
Civil & Structural Engineer
Yudi Hermawan
Images/Photos
Hand Architect Associates (Pinot Architecture)




PVC pipes are used to mimic the traditional Indonesian batik motif in a modern Java house.

The house at number 35 Cipete Selatan, Jakarta, has a fascinating façade made up of cut PVC pipes of various diameters. This is the architect’s emblematic interpretation of the batik motif (the design achieved by the traditional Indonesian method of tie-dyeing); a representation of the modern Java house as requested by the owner.

The owner had wanted a modern dwelling that marries the ethnic primbon (Javanese astrology) and feng shui (the Chinese art of placing objects) practices, and the result is a home planned with consideration to the orientation and natural conditioning of the interior spaces. Punctuated throughout the living areas are ponds and a water pool in the centre of this abode.



Responding to the humid tropical climate, the architect employed mostly passive strategies of cooling, integrating water bodies and a double-volume open courtyard to encourage natural ventilation. This openness connects the family room and dining room. Inward looking, it offers a private sanctuary to the owner and his family. The PVC pipes that mimic the batik motifs act as a sustainable and affordable screen from the glaring afternoon sun at the entrance, creating shadow-patterns on the interior spaces. Local materials like stone, ceramic tiles and wood are extensively used on both interiors and exteriors.



This 364-square metre, five-room home gives priority to the common spaces like the central courtyard where the family meets to relax and rejuvenate. It even has a small pavilion-like structure at the courtyard. This feature has a characteristic Javanese tile roof with decorative upsweeping ridge ends. Four timber platforms seem to float over a large pond, crossing one another in the centre and connecting the four sides of the courtyard, linking the living areas of the lofty home. – Shahidah Bte Shahjihan/Candice Lim/Erwin Maulana

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Residing Under The Reigning Roof



PROJECT DATA

Project Nam
e
Rumah Bangka No. 3
Location
Jl. Bangka Raya IX Kemang, Jakarta, Indonesia
Completion
August 2008
Site Area
250 m2
Gross Floor Area
250 m2
Number of Rooms
6
Building Height
2 storeys (1 mezzanine)
Client/Owner
Tantowi and Dewi Yahya
Architecture Firm
Desainrenanda
Principal Architect
Raul Renanda
Main Contractor
Basic structure by developers;
upgrading façade by Ismail;
interior by Nugroho Sani
Images/Photos
Raul Renanda




The architect draws inspiration from the roofs of vernacular Indonesian architecture for this townhouse development.

Rumah Bangka No. 3 is a townhouse in a housing development in Jakarta, and like many mass housing projects in the city, it was completed quickly within a tight timeline and a tighter budget. However, this particular house received a little more attention from the architect than the rest, thus making it just that bit more special.



This is because the owners of house No. 3 gave him the opportunity to further develop the design intent he originally had for the townhouses. Unlike the other houses in the scheme, which appear more plain due to cost constraint, house No. 3 has timber details added to the vertical fins, accompanied by an oddly angled aluminium sunscreen. These added features are intended to accentuate the dynamism of the design.




While modern vernacular was the reigning theme in the housing development, Raul Renanda acknowledges the passive strategies that vernacular Indonesian architecture provides, particularly the architecture of the roof. As seen in most Malay Archipelago countries, traditional houses and other buildings are dwarfed by their overwhelming roofs, whether they are the large boat-shaped roofs of the Toba Batak people or the tongkonan houses of the Torajans with their massively exaggerated pitched saddle roofs. The steep tile roofs of the townhouses, a generalised borrowing from the vernacular architecture, are a dependable solution, if not an immediate one, in the tropical climate. The open plan of the interiors allows for natural ventilation and, coupled with the high pitched roof, responds to the heat. The steep slopes deal with rain runoff during wet days, channelling the downpour to the sides of the homes, cooling the interiors with condensation. The glare of the morning sun is minimised with a large vertical fin that runs down the middle of the front façade. According to the architect, the main bedroom faces the morning sun and this feature allows the owners to view the open sky “without worrying about the heat from the afternoon sun”. – Shahidah Bte Shahjihan/Candice Lim/Erwin Maulana

© Copyright 2008 FuturArc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

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Thursday 16 October 2008

Now You See It, Now You Don’t



PROJECT DATA

Project Name
Niloufar
Location
Tabanan, Bali, Indonesia
Completion
31 July 2007
Site Area
5,170 m2
Gross Floor Area
833 m2
Number of Rooms
5
Building Height
Maximum 6.5 metres; overall 11.5 metres
Client/Owner
Christian Savet
Architecture Firm
GFAB
Principal Architect
Gary Fell
Project Team
Hetta Thynne; Tessaldi Ilmi; Zakky Khalid
Main Contractor
Yobel Construction & Building Supplies
Mechanical & Electrical Engineer
Hardian Solusi Engineering
Civil & Structural Engineer
Catur Mitra Utama
Images/Photos
GFAB




The architects designed this villa to blend in seamlessly with its surroundings, like a hidden gem amidst nature’s beauty.


The site is set in rice padi fields on the edge of a ravine banking down to a river. The client requested for a five-bedroom villa, with entertainment spaces and staff areas. The architects wanted the villa to be nestled into the landscape, like a hidden gem amidst the beautiful surrounds. Hence, the challenge was to enable the villa to blend in with its environment.

As the land was sloping above a river, the architects set the villa into the terrain as if emerging from the sloping land. The roofs are at the road and entrance level, and the building slowly unfolds from the entrance. There are water features throughout: roof ponds, reflecting ponds, cascades and a pool, echoing the river below. Because the site is located next to a ‘holy tree’, there was a great deal of negotiation, and allowances were made for Hindu processions to pass, and for the building to have minimal impact on the site. Major temples are located adjacent to the property and the villa is sited so that all these features form part of its aspect. Due to its ‘semi-buried’ nature, the house presents minimum impact to the surrounding landscape, appearing more like a traditional small temple or bale bengong (small shelter in the fields) than a large luxury villa.



All of the materials used were sourced from the villa’s direct environment—the walls were clad in stones from the river bed; the roofs are largely water roofs or planted roofs looking like an extension to the surrounding rice fields; other roofs were constructed from terracotta tiles made locally using deep red soil found in the area. Where possible, there are planted elements instead of walls. From the road access to the villa, the house could hardly be seen, maintaining the architects’ vision and enhancing the owner’s privacy. Instead, one would only see the unglazed terracotta rooftops, which are of the same colour as the soil floating amongst water roofs and planting above the padi fields.

All the private rooms in the villa such as the bedrooms and snug spaces are dug into the slope with the river stone walls retaining the earth roofs or water roofs above, making them almost cave-like, and naturally very cool in temperature. The public spaces are exposed to the elements, surrounded by landscape and water cascades.



The pitched roofs feature a double membrane to assist in cooling: the primary membrane is a steel sheet roof over where the secondary terracotta tile ‘rain screen’ or secondary membrane is laid. The terracotta absorbs the heat of the sun whilst throwing the zinc roof into deep shade—between them a small gap allows the breeze to exhaust any built-up heat. Elsewhere, the standard repertoire of pools and planters ensures the building is kept cool with limited demand on mechanical ventilation. – Candice Lim/Erwin Maulana

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Urban Oasis



PROJECT DATA

Project Name
Aqua
Location
Seminyak, Kuta, Bali, Indonesia
Completion
31 May 2007
Site Area
850 m2
Gross Floor Area
764 m2
Number of Rooms
4
Building Height
6 metres
Client/Owner
Andrew Britton
Architecture Firm
GFAB
Principal Architect
Gary Fell
Project Team
Hetta Thynne; Victor Fernandes; Zakky Khalid
Main Contractor
Yobel Construction & Building Supplies
Mechanical & Electrical Engineer
JdeR Building Service Consultant
Civil & Structural Engineer
Catur Mitra Utama
Images/Photos
GFAB




Water was used extensively to encourage air circulation throughout the villa
.


This villa—meant to be like an oasis in the city—was designed as an urban rental property specifically tailored to the Bali party market. The site is located in a densely built-up area with direct neighbours all around, so sound insulation and privacy are very important. The façade is unprepossessing yet upon entering, the villa unfolds with a 25-metre swimming pool, roof terraces and gardens, spaces for groups and privacy for individuals. All the accommodation has been allocated along the perimeter walls to create a feeling of spaciousness.




As the name suggests, water was used extensively to encourage air circulation throughout the villa. The architects drew from local vernacular notions on ways to deal with weather extremes: deep roof overhangs to provide shade and rain protection; swimming pools, roof ponds and lily ponds to encourage air flow to aid in cooling the property naturally. A Ficus tree was also planted so that it would eventually shade the bedroom roofs completely. Nature is used to mask, camouflage and cool the building, giving this urban villa a sense of tranquillity. The scale of the street was taken into account when the architects determined the scale of the building, and they also treated the façade with planted areas, timber and local stones. The villa is largely open—the living and dining areas have no walls and most of the spaces are external. Rather than dense walls, planting and trellising have been incorporated to allow air flow yet also prevent prying eyes from outside.



In line with the architects’ philosophy of utilising local materials, they used sala gadang, a flint-like stone cut in a square format for wall cladding. On the external façade, paras bukit from the south of Bali was crushed and used as land fill. They are also used for sound and thermal insulation. – Candice Lim/Erwin Maulana

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