Magnificent courtyard home

This 2-storey house centres on a large, central courtyard and is designed to soothe the owners' worries away after a hard day at work. -The Star/ANN

Fri, Dec 28, 2012
The Star/Asia News Network

A clean environment and open space were two criteria that prompted lawyer Hanif Nasution and his artist wife Zaira Adilla to move to Cirendeu, a quiet suburban area in the south of Jakarta.

Magnificent courtyard home Click on thumbnail to view (Photos: The Star/ANN)

The pair tied the knot in 2004 and moved in with Hanif's parents. Subsequently, they lived another couple years in Zaira's family home before settling into their own home in 2010."My wife and I always dreamt of living in a house with a plenty of open space. We want to be close to nature, and we knew that it was impossible to have such a house in the city," explains Hanif.

Their house is sited on a lot that was part of a bigger plot that spanned approximately 17,200 sq ft when he first saw it in 2006. The asking price then was beyond his budget. But good news came in 2008 when another party bought half the land.

"By that time, we had been saving for two years. We bought the remaining approximately 8,600 sq ft without thinking twice. We paid for Rp.600mil (RM190,000) for it. We could have bought a decent and fairly spacious apartment in the city, but I reckoned a cookie-cutter type of living space wouldn't have been worth it," says Hanif.

Centre court

Architects Jeffry Sandy and Sukendro Priyogo of Nataneka Architecture were entrusted to design the house. Coincidentally, the former is Hanif's high school friend.

"Through a recommendation from another high school friend (a Nataneka client), I contacted the architects. We listed the things that we wished to have in the house - a big courtyard, a spacious carport and strategic corners where my wife can display her artwork and a koi pond," recalls Hanif.

Four weeks later, the architectural team came up with a plan that has an L-shaped house with a kitchen, dining-cum-living room as well as a guest room on the ground floor. The design included private quarters for the family with two bedrooms on the first floor.

The plan also included a large, central courtyard, which is important for the homeowners. The courtyard, which takes up approximately 5,300 sq ft of the site, dominates the house concept.

Geometric

Completed in Nov 2010, the couple's approximately 2,200 sq ft three-bedroom, three-bathroom house is two-storey high and features reclaimed timber and epoxy-coated flooring.

The architecture is a nod towards minimalism, also utilising materials such as concrete and glass.

Upon entering the main gate, a perimeter wall of concrete - perforated with a geometric pattern - separates the house from the carport.

The carport is sheltered by a marquee, thick with climbing plants such as thunbergia. Past the gate, guests enter a walkway that leads to the main entrance. Made of salvaged railroad sleepers, the walkway is flanked by a shallow pond on the left and thunbergia vines on the right.

Entering the house, the living-cum-dining space is on the right, while the courtyard is on the left. Sliding glass doors separate the interior and exterior space, allowing natural light into the house.

"The first thing you see upon entering, is the dining and living space. I want people to feel at home when they come to my house," explains Hanif.

Asked about his favourite part, Hanif points to an outdoor sitting area that is located between the living-cum-dining space and the guest room. With a rattan chair and bean bags, this area has the best view of the courtyard.

"What makes this particular space special is the flooring which is covered in reclaimed teak. The wood was previously used in my wife's art studio. We use the same wood for the bathroom in the master's bedroom," says Hanif.

Designer furniture

"We didn't remove the existing trees on the site. Instead, we built an L-shaped block around them," points out Sukendro.

"Ever since we started the design concept, we had it figured out, how the furniture including the built-in fixtures will fit the space," explains the architect, referring to the built-in cabinets concealed as walls in the living room, kitchen and bedroom.

"The hidden cabinets are a smart solution to keep our house free of clutter. I use the one in the living room as a storeroom to keep my bicycles. And I have turned the one in my bedroom into a study," says Hanif.

The married couple are also big fans of designer chairs. The most outstanding piece of furniture in the living room is a custom-made sofa created by budding Indonesian designer Alvin Tjitrowirjo. It comes with a built-in bookshelf.

Artwork

Zaira's artwork is displayed throughout the house. An abstract work of 6m x 3m is prominently displayed in the living area.

There's also another prominent painting by Yogyakarta-based artist Ibrahim - known only by a single name - at the entrance of the house, as well as a sculpture by a French artist near the courtyard.