Converting a typical, pitched-roofed bungalow in Kuala Lumpur into a modern dwelling that provides privacy, security and accesses a natural setting requires a deft hand and creative mind.
![voila_house_10](https://cdn.habitusliving.com/wp-content/uploads/voila_house_10.jpg)
Luckily for his clients, Architect Fabian Tan possesses both, and his solution to their brief, while traversing an inevitable process of refinement and friction, has been a successful one.
![voila_house_3](https://cdn.habitusliving.com/wp-content/uploads/voila_house_3.jpg)
Retaining the main structure, Tan rearranged the internal layout substantially, especially by opening up the ground floor into an open concept space.
![voila_house_14](https://cdn.habitusliving.com/wp-content/uploads/voila_house_14.jpg)
A luminous, predominantly white colour paint scheme and white terrazzo flooring create a fresh, uncluttered environment, brightening the home by inviting and extending external illumination. Exposed concrete is used to retain the materiality of the pre-existing bungalow, and contrasts with the new components to add texture.
![voila_house_1](https://cdn.habitusliving.com/wp-content/uploads/voila_house_1.jpg)
A major challenge and opportunity for Tan was how to connect the home’s interiors with its natural setting – as Tan states “From the first site visit, the large umbrella trees in the garden left a deep impression”.
![voila_house_9](https://cdn.habitusliving.com/wp-content/uploads/voila_house_9.jpg)
Inspired by this, the family are arranged to face the garden view. The common areas extend into the garden, in a U-shape, with the private rooms and kitchen placed on the other side of the house.
![voila_house_8](https://cdn.habitusliving.com/wp-content/uploads/voila_house_8.jpg)
A stroke of genius on Tan’s part was the design of the convertible garden patio space; the enclosing circular door of steel framed glass panels with timber louvers can be fully retracted to open the space, creating a versatile, elegant leisure area.
![voila_house_4b](https://cdn.habitusliving.com/wp-content/uploads/voila_house_4b.jpg)
Tan comments on his design philosophy, “I believe design should have a certain spiritual sense, not in terms of religion but in the soul of a space. Context to me isn’t just relating the inside to the outside but it is a relation to everything, like who is living there, what do they do, how spaces that relate to each other and the environment.”
![voila_house_13](https://cdn.habitusliving.com/wp-content/uploads/voila_house_13.jpg)
The attentiveness to both clients’ desires and the physical setting of this project demonstrate the value of this approach, and the compelling results it can achieve.
Fabian Tan Architect
fabian-tan.com
Photography: Eiffel Chong
eiffelchong.com