Avana Apartments / Aboday Architects

Curated by ArchDaily

Architects: Aboday Architects

Text description provided by the architects. This 16 storey apartment project is located in Kemang area in South Jakarta, an established neighborhood famous for its collection of mature trees and vast greeneries. The initial concept of this project was an 8 storey apartment with balconies, done by SCDA Pte. Ltd. It has been abandoned for half a year in 2006 before client decided to appoint Aboday Architects (Indonesia) to revive the project. As its first project in Indonesia, Aboday decided to retain only the project's internal modular unit plan, while changing the rest of external design, including rising it to 16 storeys as a result of intense negotiation with local building regulator.

Living in an apartment unit way above ground is some kind of new experience for local people which used to the idea of staying in landed property, hence the introduction of extensive balcony surrounding each unit, mimicking a ‘yard' in ‘normal' house. Comprising of 64 units apartment ranging between 180 sqm to 460 sqm (for the penthouse), with each spacious private space and service area; this apartment is an epitome of landed house that stacked on top of each other creating a home in the sky. The idea of a fluid internal-external space is also explored in every space creation on this building. A 6 meter height lobby, which opens directly to its public pool and garden, start this experience on the ground floor when people enter the building, leading to a glass enclosed private lobby. This concept of internal-external space is further explored in each unit above. There is almost no visible boundary between internal unit, balcony (and even the sky.......), as a result of extensive use of tempered clear glass panel for door, window and balcony's railing.

The main feature of this architecture totem however is the introduction of protruding balconies and private pool for certain units, positioned in rhythm extended 3 meter beyond building perimeter, releasing the ‘tension' within the units toward the view of Jakarta's downtown skyline. The 2.5 x 11 m pool with its clear glass enclosure, offer a hair-rising swimming experience to the resident. Next to it, there is a soil garden and reflecting pond, acting as a catalyst between private home and the building's urban context. When most of apartment buildings in Jakarta always been identified by the use of "polished" materials, Aboday is interested in creating a high rise building with more ‘textured' look. They envision Avana Apartment to have textured façade that ‘less reflective'. It absorbs the surrounding, instead of reflecting them, giving it a more friendly gesture. This is inline with the idea of capturing the spirit of Kemang, whereby the design of the building is such, that greeneries will be elevated in the air. Also with spacious balcony that they have, people are expected to grow their own mini garden vertically, or even growing trees on their ‘open to sky' protruding balconies. Along the years, when trees and green dominate each of these spaces, the play of interwoven between concrete-glass and greeneries will let Avana Apartment appears as a giant leafy tapestry, mimicking the surrounding Kemang upward.