At first sight, the Dalvey Estate appears
to be an interesting assimilation of shapes and sizes all housed in an
intriguing architectural equation.
A rectangular cantilevered office space
commands its position above the driveway, juxtaposed by a tall cylindrical
stairwell and an ovular long barrel-like construction encasing the bedrooms.
![](https://cdn.habitusliving.com/images/stories/2010/september_10/live/dalvey/dalvey_hero2.jpg)
“The client, a young couple with three
young children had a keen sense to be environmentally friendly which enabled us
to use a lot of recycled material, modernise vernacular architecture and express
its artistic persona,” says Aamer Taher, founder and principal architect of the
eponymous practice.
A long water feature leads you into the
house while screening off the basement driveway. Cantilevered above the driveway
is a rectangular office, somewhat reminiscent of a retrotronic stereo that ensures
cross-ventilation of breeze to the back garden.
![](https://cdn.habitusliving.com/images/stories/2010/september_10/live/dalvey/dalvey_hero5.jpg)
![](https://cdn.habitusliving.com/images/stories/2010/september_10/live/dalvey/dalvey_hero4.jpg)
A guest room, gym, study, kitchen, living
and dining area command the ground floor level overlooking the landscaped
garden and water pools, while the bedrooms were assigned to the level above.
![](https://cdn.habitusliving.com/images/stories/2010/september_10/live/dalvey/dalvey_hero7.jpg)
![](https://cdn.habitusliving.com/images/stories/2010/september_10/live/dalvey/dalvey_hero6.jpg)
“The inspiration for bedroom area came from
the long houses built in Sarawak,” says Taher. “Instead of making a corridor,
we annexed each bedroom to a deck and made the walls of the rooms collapsible,
thus making the corridor a communal area.
![](https://cdn.habitusliving.com/images/stories/2010/september_10/live/dalvey/dalvey_hero3.jpg)
![](https://cdn.habitusliving.com/images/stories/2010/september_10/live/dalvey/dalvey_hero9.jpg)
“The staircase was intentionally created as
a feature by making it a prominent annex to the house instead of relegating it
to the back,” explains Taher.
“If you think of a house as a work of art;
as a sculpture, this is what we’d like our work
to be.
Subscribe to Habitus magazine or pick up issue 10 – out in December –
where you’ll find another of Aamer Taher’s projects.
Aamer Taher
aamertaher.com
![](https://cdn.habitusliving.com/images/stories/2010/september_10/live/dalvey/dalvey_hero8.jpg)