e seldom value what we have in
abundance, and this is especially
true for appreciating our tropical
climate. Ask the average Malaysian
and they’ll say they would rather be in
air-conditioning indoors as opposed
to communing with the sweltering
heat outside. On the flip side, those
from cooler climes seem to value the
appeal of integrating the outdoors into
everyday living - Like this European
couple with three daughters, who
wanted their home in Kuala Lumpur
to have a more seamless transition
between the indoors and outdoors
despite living in a standard terrace
house.
The couple decided to contact
Fabian Tan of Fabian Tan Architect
after visiting their friend’s house
which Tan had renovated, which they
loved. “They were very attracted to
my works because of the clean lines
and minimalist style. I was attracted
to the project partially because, when
I visited them at their old place, the
wife seemed to be quite the interior
decorator with a very nice collection
of east and west furniture and decor
items. I think we have chemistry for
aesthetics and that is important in
any project for the client-architect
relationship,” enthuses Tan.
Despite this rapport, the projectwas not without its challenges. There
were quite a lot of restrictions of it
being a strata title-type project, where
the facade of the house could not
be modified. But, these restrictions
inspired Tan to see how he could work
around them. “The original layout was
dark and the flow did not have much
of a relationship to the surroundings.
Because it was a corner lot and had
an existing pool, I needed to see how
to work with the structure, but also
alter openings and opening up spaces
to connect better with the garden and
pool. Main alterations were made to
the ground floor, deck, and pool area,
where large regular square openings
were made to view the garden and
pool, and the walls were thickened
to achieve a certain sense of depth,”
explains Tan.
Tan goes on to add: “I like depth
in buildings, as it creates a certain
sense of grounding. The stair area
was also opened up to give more light.
The powder room, store room, wet
kitchen, and yard were repositioned
to the side of the house to provide
a seamless living, dining, and dry
kitchen experience with an outdoor
dining area at the rear. As the clients
love the outdoors, they usually eat in
the outdoor dining area instead of in
the indoor formal dining room. TheABOVE
The family
room area with
French bay
windows is a
new addition.
RIGHT
Lounge day
beds were
added so that
the family
would have
extra space to
relax.