Veranda House / sigit.kusumawijaya

Curated by Fernanda Castro

Architects: sigit.kusumawijaya
Area: 634 m²
Year: 2015
Photographs:M. Ifran Nurdin, Ade Idea
Manufacturers: Acor, Escenium HAUS, Mortar Utama, Teka, Toto
Lead Architect: Sigit Kusumawijaya

Text description provided by the architects. The concept of green architecture is integrated with urban farming in this building located in the Cipete area, Jakarta, Indonesia. This house not only offers aesthetic beauty and microclimate conditioning, but it also has the added value of using plants that can be consumed by its owners and users.

Veranda House / sigit.kusumawijaya - Interior Photography, Table, Chair, Beam — © Ade Idea

The challenge of this project is to facilitate the desires and requirements of the client to have a home that can support the house itself while also running the business of boarding houses for the workers and students who move around South Jakarta. In addition, another requirement is the house must accommodate the vision of urban farming concept that also as a hobby of the owner and apply for urbanites in the middle of dense Jakarta.

To meet the client’s desire to have the area of gardening spacious in the city center, the architect proposed different variants of media for gardening, for example the usage of conventional planted on the ground, or vertically by using verticulture across the façade of the building and railing corridor in boarding houses area, and the other methods for vertical garden. The spacious gardening area also provided on the rooftop of this building which can be accessed directly from the owner on the 2nd floor.

Veranda House / sigit.kusumawijaya - Image 26 of 31 — Ground Floor Plan

By implementing wide openings, skylights in every room and holes for cross ventilation, this building lets sunlight in and natural air to pass through. Vegetation covers most of the building facade, filtering the air that enters the building.

With the abundance of vegetation planted on almost the entire skin of the building included in the section of rooftop, intended to reduce the micro climate both within the building site itself and also in surrounding areas, as well as lead to the impression of coolness.

The use of natural and raw materials--such as natural wood, unpainted wall, floor hardener, and raw and rusty metal for door and window frames--creates a ‘down-to-earth’ impression of an oasis in the middle of Jakarta’s urban atmosphere.

Veranda House / sigit.kusumawijaya - Interior Photography, Bedroom, Bed — © Ade Idea

A compact design for the modules of boarding room with a size of about 3,5 x 4 meter which in each boarding room is already available bathroom and WC, beds, desks, cabinets’ clothes, bookshelves. It equipped with features such as natural lighting, apart from the window there are also skylights, natural ventilation also with small ventilation holes under study table that can be opened and closed flexibly.

Veranda House / sigit.kusumawijaya - Image 27 of 31 — First Floor Plan

Moreover, the concept of urban farming on a residential scale introduces healthy lifestyle by cultivating edible plants--instead of only planting decorative one--that can be harvested and consumed, enhancing food security from family level.