Kubik House

Approach

This house for a German/Malaysian family in Ipoh began with an unlikely introduction.

Having purchased a trapezoidal piece of land on a hillside – and bringing their own ideas and inspiration about modern tropical house design – the client walked into an interior designer’s office in Ipoh and asked: “Who’s the best architect in town?”.

Without irony, they replied: “The best architect in Ipoh is actually based in Sydney”.

So began a years-long collaboration to bring to life the clients’ dream of a modern tropical house – to incorporate passive house design and be ideal for entertaining family and friends in spacious rooms (with contrasting very private bedrooms and other areas), and connected to the outdoors, while taking full advantage of the unique characteristics of their land.

Process

The land itself presented particular challenges due to its odd shape and steep slope; one section is 3 metres lower than the rest. We chose to retain the natural topography and incorporate the existing form into our design, to create a series of split levels throughout the house.

This ecological approach exemplifies passive house design and minimised expensive earthworks, also ensuring that differing vistas – as well as prevailing breezes – could be captured from every level.

To minimise the carbon footprint, local materials and methods of construction were used. The clients were highly involved in the process of selecting these materials, participating in field trips to local quarries and timber mills via the architects’ extensive network of collaborators.

Results

The house acts primarily as a wind instrument, taking advantage of its location on the slope, between a hill and a pond. It catches cool morning breezes falling downhill and evening breezes flowing in the opposite direction.

Through the use of on-site observation and fluid dynamics the tropical house design channels the breezes through the living areas. Even when there’s not much wind, there’s a breeze inside the house; it is always cool and comfortable.

An indirect evaporative cooler was incorporated into the living area, the first installation of this technology in Malaysia, using 80% less electricity than an air conditioner. Large underground tanks capture rainwater that is used in the evaporative cooler and then recycled.

The tropical house design fuses sustainable materials with updated construction techniques, and includes handmade custom items such as bamboo and paper lamps.

The house took 25% more time to build because of the unconventional methods, bespoke technical solutions and high level of craftsmanship and detailing, but it cost 30% less than other homes within the same development, due to careful and strategic design considerations.

According to the clients, the architects’ approach of “understanding us and the land and the climate has resulted in a home which we could never have thought of by ourselves. It’s a great and peaceful place enjoyed by us and our friends (and chicken and geese wandering in our garden).”