From the outside, the three-storey bungalow looks really grand. With an iron gate and an elevated courtyard entrance, you expect the interior to be as imposing.
However, the moment you step inside, you meet with open space in the living room. There are no windows except for a few in the kitchen. There are sliding doors in the living room and the kitchen. The walls are unpainted, with red brick in certain sections. And the ceiling is not plastered. You assume the house is yet to be finished.
But it is. Painting the walls or using plaster brings chemicals into the house, something the owner and designer of the house, Tan Loke Mun, wants to avoid.
It’s a blazing afternoon but there are no air-conditioners. There is no need for any as sliding doors at both ends of the house, when open, permit cooling breezes into the spacious living room.
Tan, a postgraduate in architectural studies, explains the house is designed as if it is under a tree canopy. The roof is painted white to reflect the sun.
“I also installed a 20cm layer of rock wool insulation and left another 15cm for air ventilation on the roof. The perforated metal on the roof allows air to circulate. I followed the design of a kampung house where the second floor is much higher than the first compared to conventional houses. With air ventilation during the day, the second floor will be cooler at night.”
The house was built around three frangipani trees as well as a star fruit and coconut trees. And the trees are the reason Tan bought the house in Section 11, Petaling Jaya.
He had bought the house, originally a single-storey bungalow, in 1992 and sold it few years later. In 2008, he found out that the frangipani trees were still around. That prompted him to buy the house.
“We cannot find these trees on residential land anymore. They are good for biodiversity. Through photosynthesis, trees absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen.” The trees now shade the swimming pool.
Tan became more environmentally aware after he designed a friend’s house six years ago.
“The friend was upset that his electricity bill was almost RM7,000 a month. I then researched and found that it could be reduced through insulation. We need green houses to reduce expenses.”
Tan followed all the requirements for a green house based on the Green Building Index (GBI) tools when he renovated his house. A past president of Persatuan Arkitek Malaysia, he was instrumental in formulating the GBI. His house meets all the criteria of a platinum-rated green house. The criteria include indoor environmental quality, sustainable site planning and management, materials and resources, innovation, and energy and water efficiency.
The design took six months while the construction of the house was completed in two years. First on his mind was to build the house around the trees. The balcony in his eldest son’s room was built around the coconut tree.
Tan, the director of ArchiCentre Sdn Bhd, blocked out the sun with a lightweight concrete block on the east and west side of the house, which had a built-up area of 1,080-sq m.
“The morning sun from the east is hotter than the evening sun. And it usually rains in the afternoon. So I do not have too many windows on both sides of the house. The sliding doors in the north and south of the house allow the breeze in. If I am in the living room, I keep the doors slightly ajar so I don’t need to switch on the fans.”
A hole on the roof over a fish pond also keeps the house cool. The wind, which blows into the house, will carry water droplets from the evaporation of the pond — a simple and environmental friendly way of beating the heat.
More than half of the materials used for the house are recycled. This include the red bricks from the old house and black marble rejects from housing projects. The iron grill on the mirrors were discarded at his church and the aluminium and steel railings were made from recycled content. The removable book shelves were made from discarded plywood and the deck on the ground and upper floors, from rejected chengal wood.
Tan also plants vegetables such as ginger, papaya, tapioca and pumpkin around the house. A wire mesh for climbing plants near the kitchen windows works as a sun screen.
On the third floor is the mechanical and engineering room with four huge water tanks installed to collect rain. The filtered rain water is used to water plants and clean floors. Sewer water is also recycled. This has helped to reduce the water bill.
Waste from food and plants are used as fertiliser. A compost tank sits at a corner of the garden.
“Even cut grass and fallen leaves can be used as fertiliser. Leave them on the ground for two weeks to decompose naturally.”
Over the years, Tan has learned more about building green houses and buildings, and has designed seven of them. Green buildings are not a trend but the right thing to build.
“I only design green houses now. I cannot do anything else. It is wrong to build houses any other way because you are misusing resources.”
It may be costly to turn an entire house green but it will not cost a lot for simple steps such as putting in insulation on the roof or having it painted with sun-reflecting paint.
“If you have windows on the east and west, use plants as sun screen. Heat comes from two sources — the roof and windows. So if you put insulation on your roof and sun screen on your windows, you will keep your house cool.”
The house was rated platinum by GBI in 2010. It recently won the Sustainable Design and Residential Awards from Shanghai-based Asia Pacific Design Centre.
