Located in Selangor, House68 was designed as a series of modern pavilions connected by large open terraces and water gardens. Each pavilion differs programmatically and allows for the large home to be sectionalised. A guest pavilion, an entertainment pavilion, a living pavilion and a service pavilion – each of these functions independently and may be sectionalised and closed off when not in use. This flexibility allows for the house to conform and adapt to the changing needs of the family.

The concept of pavilions is a very common approach to tropical architecture. The fragmented planning allows for permeability and effective airflow through and around the building mass, cooling and refreshing the interior of the house. The planning naturally creates outdoor spaces and courtyards that bind the programs of the pavilions with the outside, and activate the in-between spaces more effectively.

The approach to tropical living is for the design to blur the lines between inside and outside. A semi-enclosed space bridges internal space to the exterior, allowing functions to expand and contract depending on the need at the time. This concept of a third space, in the context of a residential unit, adopts the area left over for the garden and integrates it into the planning for the pavilions. This results in a design where architecture and landscape coexist, sharing the available space and allowing the boundaries to be more fluid.

This project studies and presents itself as that which a modern residential home in the tropics should be: one that sits within its context and gardens. Tropical architecture is not to shield and protect the users from the elements but to enhance and bridge the experience and the relationship between them.

Furniture: Walter Knoll, Busnelli, De La Espada, Cattelan Italia, Arketipo, Dedon. Lighting: RZB Lighting, Jung. Finishes: Lumbermart, Kintaly Marble, Lamitak, Goodrich, Compac Engineered Quartz. Fittings & Fixtures: Hafele, ISEO, Kawajun, Hansgrohe, Axor, Claybrook, Duravit, Binova Kitchens, Blanco, De Dietrich.

Photography: Creative Clicks