This two-storey end-of-terrace house is located in Taman SEA, one of the oldest housing suburbs in Petaling Jaya city, developed in the seventies. It was the client’s family home growing up. The house was rented out for an extended period before the client, now with a small family of her own, decided to move back. Years of renting have left the house in a state of disrepair, and a significant upgrade was required.

The remodelling exercise has completely transformed the simple and unassuming end-of-terrace building with a modestly extended exterior using natural materials that conceal a rich inner life. Rudimentary additions and modifications over the years left the existing house cramped and gloomy. It had low ceilings and beams, typical of the period's housing developments. The challenge was to modernise spaces by working within the tolerance of the existing structure. Environmental improvement was a crucial factor, and the aim was to allow more daylight into the interior spaces and improve the airflow. The client also wanted more room for her growing family.

The house is extended on the ground floor, along the side garden and the rear. The extension provides space for a shaded terrace, an en-suite guest bedroom and utility rooms. The terrace is directly accessible from the living room through sliding doors. It is mainly used as an outdoor dining space and can be easily reconfigured for other activities like festive parties or intimate family gatherings. Upstairs, the attic is transformed into a small room, accessible via a steep stair with alternating steps to work around limited space. The extensions on the ground floor and in the attic do not overwhelm the scale of the house, and this helps maintain a respectful volume alongside its neighbours.

The remodelling exercise involves stripping the existing house of its previous modifications and additions back to its primary structure. This, along with relocating the staircase to the edge of the main living space, creates an open yet cohesive feel to the ground floor for a family to come together. The living, dining and kitchen are reoriented towards each other but gently separated by a double-height central space where the original staircase was. The relationship with the natural light was pivotal to the scheme, and a skylight at the top of this double-height space bathes the interior with soft daylight of everchanging quality. The client has been taken aback by how much they liked their remodelled bright and open living areas, where they now have a space to cook, live and enjoy family life together.

Externally, the remodelled facades exude warmth and feature an interplay of terracotta-coloured compressed earth bricks which are used for columns and parts of the wall, and local wood for screens and ceilings. The earth brick columns are more like slim piers in proportion and, along with the cast in-situ concrete bench at the corner, define the boundary of the terrace. The timber screens are delicate and filigree-like, made from thin strips of Balau wood arranged vertically, and they provide privacy and shading to the large, glazed openings behind them. The roof remains unchanged to maintain the terrace street’s roofline and is topped with photovoltaic panels.

Internally, materials have more muted tones to achieve a calm and relaxing environment. The floors on the ground floor are polished natural stone with sandy hues, which complement the brown tones of the wood veneers used for the cabinetries. The structure of the main staircase is sculpted from folded steel plates and suspended on rods. The treads are compressed bamboo planks. The bamboo flooring continues upstairs in all the bedrooms and the steps up to the attic, providing a more soothing ambience than the ground floor. Here, the bouncing of light off the natural flooring onto the white-washed walls adds a layer of softness to the overall atmosphere of the private spaces.

The design of the house aims to reduce both carbon footprint and embodied carbon. The photovoltaic panels on the roof significantly reduce reliance on the national grid energy supply, whereas low embodied carbon materials are used where possible. Compressed earth bricks used externally are produced using locally sourced soil and sand in a nearby factory. They have lower embodied energy and carbon in their production as firing is replaced with a process that involves dampening, compressing, and natural drying. The stone used for floors on the ground floor and bathroom walls is another low-embodied energy material. Other sustainable materials in the house include timber and bamboo, both renewable resources.  

Project Information & Credits:

Location: Taman SEA, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

Status: Built

Completion Year: 2024

Total floor area: 190 m²

Extended floor area: 50 m²

Photography by David Yeow Photography

Architect: Eleena Jamil Architect

Architectural Design team: Eleena Jamil, Yow Pei San, Adam Aziz Marzuki, Kirrthana Nanthini