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/ PHOTOGRAPHY PIXELAW PHOTOGRAPHY
CAPTURED
HORIZON
A site-inspired scheme reflects an architect’s
original take on a detached dwelling in the
Negeri Sembilan countryside.
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/ ABODE /
F
ollowing a years-long Italian FUNNEL VISION
sojourn, a return to native Malaysia Melvyn Kanny shares his insight on
for a professional couple marked a the choice of location. / BELOW
chapter of new opportunities. “They (the couple) were looking With its generous
On the agenda was starting a business, around, they shortlisted a few places. driveway and
position stepped back
as well as finding and building a home Planters’ Haven was the one they liked. from the main street,
for themselves. All the plots are an acre in size, so there the house’s assumes
a nondescript repose.
Foregoing the bustle of townships and was a lot of space which suited them as
suburbia, they decided on a piece of land they have two big dogs,” he says.
within the 246-acre Planters’ Haven, an In considering the young husband-
exclusive Sime Darby development of and-wife duo (both engineers with
sprawling greenery in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan. European exposure), Kanny opted for an
What was left was the design of the house unconventional approach.
itself, which they entrusted to established “The site appears small at first, but
practice MJKanny Architect to deliver. as you walk in, it gradually opens up to
In the true spirit of genius loci, the the horizon, much like a funnel. So why
architect looked to the site for inspiration, not explore the idea of something that
and was duly rewarded. unveils itself?”
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1
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SECTION
FLOOR PLANS
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traditional Malay kampung houses, is numerous glazed apertures, creates the
elevation: the entire house was constructed abode’s signature look. / ABOVE
almost a metre above grade. And there are timbers, too: pine, balau and A raised, pine-
“There’s space under the building, Burmese ironwood form the house’s ceilings, stripped ceiling,
clerestory windows,
and we use that for air circulation,” Kanny pergolas and decking, their appearance brick walls and
remarks. “In a kampung house you have and robustness that while machined, still cement flooring
delineate the
wooden floorboards, and in between the lends a natural texture and touch that volumetric sphere of
gaps, air filters through. resonate with the surrounding greenery. the central living and
dining space.
“What we did here was replicate that
effect through customised slots in various THE CHALLENGES OF PRECISION
Melvyn Kanny, spaces, so that cool air from below can A non-symmetrical layout, particularly
Principal of be drawn into the house. Even if the one inspired by a logarithmic spiral, invites
MJKanny Architect
owners are away, the house will always be its share of technical challenges more so
naturally ventilated.” during construction. And while the finished
Local materials of concrete and brick house appears immaculate, achieving that
respectively form the tunnel shell and precision required demonstrable effort
cavity walls that insulate the interior from those involved.
against heat – that, combined with the Relates Kanny, “Getting the geometry
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/3 /4
Natural timber pergolas and Via windows and skylight, the
floor decking extend the master bathroom becomes a
interior space to the pool and connection to the outdoors with
greenery outdoors. its brightness and materiality.
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3
right was a struggle, because you formwork joints ultimately became the
don’t have direct gridlines with a radial building contractor’s priority.
layout. There were instances where Tempering the clients’ desire for
the alignment was off, such as the steel perfection against a house steeped in
columns not lining up with the floor, and naked materiality and a backdrop of
this was after the floor had been cast. builders’ proficiencies poses a challenge
Only after a corrective survey had been to any architect.
undertaken could the necessary remedial What was needed here was
works proceed.” perseverance, and a belief in the
Even at a finishing level, precision ultimate vision, such that even the
was a concern, as was the case with most dogmatic homeowner can find
the off-form concrete tunnel where the beauty in an unvarnished aesthetic,
clients insisted on the smoothest surface and a splendoured horizon that only a
possible; the grinding down of uneven considered architecture can capture.
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