The owner of this house is a family that we designed a house for in 2004. Eight years later, they had saved up enough money to buy a piece of land closer their children’s school and had some leftover budget to build a small house. The parents wanted to live in a compact space to be close to the children during their formative years.

The house is divided into two parts, the main living area and service area, creating a courtyard that allows sunlight and cross ventilation to flow into the rooms. The main living area consists of an open space on the ground floor and 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a living/dining/kitchen area on the second floor. The service area consists of the housekeeper’s bedroom, bathroom and working area. The only access to the second floor is to go up the stairs hidden in the service area, that could be locked for security.

To meet the budget, the main design strategy is to reduce the floor area, use inexpensive local materials and an overall lightweight structure. The main house’s exterior is made of hollow steel frame and steel plates, and the interior uses pine wood partitions. The service area is enclosed in expanded metal wire mesh that would be covered by climbing plants.

This house uses building materials and space layouts that are not common in Indonesia. To be able to live like this, the family must adhere to a lifestyle that reduces personal belongings and rethink about the concept of the public/private space. But thermal comfort is not sacrificed and they actually gain a large open space that could be used for many different kinds of activities.