OLD MEETS NEW

SOETAMI 131 RESIDENCE RENOVATION

Location               : Bandung, West Java, Indonesia

Typology              : Extension/Renovation

Year                       : 2021

Floor Area           : 377 m²

Client                    : Private Client

Status                   : Completed

Role                       : Architectural Design, Site Supervision

The residence in question is a 40-year-old structure dominated by exposed brick and teakwood outrigger beams. The project involved replacing the old, dilapidated canopy in the backyard that had damaged the roof outrigger beams to which the canopy was suspended.

The new canopy was designed for easy structural maintenance and to provide greater protection from the elements for both the ground floor veranda and the upper level balcony, while remaining in keeping with the house’s architectural language. Teakwood has become a rare and expensive building material nowadays in Indonesia; even the teakwood that is available will most likely not have the same structural integrity as that of olden days. So, as an alternative building material that matches the dominant teakwood building element, the new canopy was designed and constructed with the use squared hollow sections cladded with glass-fibre reinforced cement in a wood pattern. The structural steel was painted with black sandblast to make the wood pattern cladding appear more dominant, thus enabling the new structure to assimilate well with the house.

As far as the structural system, the new canopy on the ground level uses a truss system that enables the structure to carry a human load for maintenance purposes and also achieve the impression of a natural timber structure. The truss geometry allows natural light to enter the interior of the house and can be utilised as a plant-growing medium. To assimilate with the backyard landscape, the canopy was designed with columns for support. These columns have twisted cladding on which climbing plants can easily grow from the garden beds onto the canopy itself