Rumah Tepi Kali

A family house on a narrow river plot, split into three volumes so that every room touches a courtyard and the afternoon wind can pass straight through.

The site is long, thin and falls four metres toward the Code river. Rather than levelling it, the house steps down with the slope in three linked pavilions, each one turned slightly to catch the cross breeze that runs along the water in the late afternoon.

Structure is exposed board-formed concrete paired with reclaimed teak from the family's previous house on the same plot. The brick screen along the western face was laid by hand by masons from the neighbouring kampung, using a bond drawn full-size on the slab before work began.

There is no air conditioning in the living areas. Deep overhangs, a ventilated roof cavity and the courtyards do the work instead — interior temperatures sit three to five degrees below ambient through the dry season.