Located within a residential estate in South Tangerang, Banten Province in southwest Jakarta, Indonesia, this residence, designed by Kelvin Thengono from K-Thengono Design Studio, is shaped by a massing strategy that negotiates openness and privacy while optimising natural light and ventilation. Taking advantage of its hook site condition, the design carefully calibrates its volumes to respond to outdoor views while maintaining a more introverted domestic environment. Rather than treating the corner condition simply as an exposed facade, the site becomes an opportunity to organise the house around a sequence of framed views, courtyards and outdoor spaces.
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- Photo credit: Mario Wibowo
The composition begins with a public L-shaped volume on the ground floor, oriented along the site’s front and side edges. This configuration encloses a quieter outdoor zone at the rear of the plot, which becomes the primary visual focus at this level. The arrangement creates a gradual transition between the street and the more private interior, allowing communal spaces to remain connected to the outdoors while preserving a sense of retreat. Above it, a larger upper mass accommodates the private program, establishing a clear spatial hierarchy between communal and intimate areas.
The upper volume is split and manipulated to generate circulation as an architectural device. At the front of the house, the mass is pulled downward, creating a vertical connection between the ground floor and the upper level. Toward the rear, the volume is lifted upward, allowing the architecture to open toward the sky and extend the sequence of outdoor spaces. Circulation on the second floor is shaped as an indoor theater for movie screenings, which then gives access to the rooftop swimming pool. Here, movement between programs becomes an integral part of the spatial experience rather than simply a means of connecting rooms.
This manipulation of mass enables an extended outdoor sequence, where movement continues from the upper living area to the pool and then ascends again to an outdoor yoga space at the highest level. A fully planted green roof crowns the building, adding another layer of landscape to the vertically organised residence. Together, these opposing gestures create multiple loops that link interior spaces with outdoor areas across various levels, encouraging movement through the house and allowing different spaces to be experienced from changing perspectives.
The layered circulation strategy also supports cross-ventilation and brings daylight deep into the house. Circulation zones wrapping the building are screened with operable woven panels made from recycled PET rattan, allowing air to pass through while filtering light and maintaining privacy. These panels provide a flexible environmental layer that can be adjusted according to changing conditions throughout the day. Rounded corners respond directly to the geometry of the corner site, easing transitions between volumes and softening the overall massing. Meanwhile, the facade on the ground floor is constructed in bamboo-textured concrete, introducing a tactile material character to the base of the house.
Through its layered massing and circulation-driven layout, the house positions movement as a central architectural experience, connecting domestic life, landscape, light, and ventilation across multiple levels.
