A Stunning Concrete Home for a Couple and Two Children in Semarang, Indonesia

Cascading House is a stunning modern concrete home located in Semarang, Indonesia. It was designed by Tamara Wibowo Architects, this lovely contemporary house has four bedrooms, a living area, and a service area that embodies functional and comfortable living.

by Gemma Nov 2, 2022 25 Images

Cascading House by Tamara Wibowo Architects

Hidden behind several mature trees around the site, an unassuming concrete house nestled behind a long row of vertical wooden fence configurations. It is not easy to see the house on the street level because the house follows the topography of the street. The difference between the highest level of the street to the lowest level of the street is five-meter, while the land of the house has a difference of three meters. Instead of making itself stand out from the site, the house appropriates itself to blend in with the topography of the site thus the term cascading house fits with the way the house is physically arranged and thus experienced.

The house is designed for a young couple with two small children as their second home away from their main house in Jakarta. Their main requirement is a simple house with four bedrooms, a living area, and a service area that embodies functional and comfortable living. Having studied the site, the design was immediately inspired by the topography of the site. The site was divided into three levels on which the three main programs were placed: service and garage were placed on the highest level of the site, the living area was placed in the middle, and on the lowest level where the four bedrooms were arranged in two levels. The three masses cascade down the site so the height of the bedroom mass is the same as the service mass. Two courtyards of the same size were placed in-between the three levels and three massings creating a transition space in which the stairs are located. The courtyards serve as a source of light and air for the adjacent masses, especially the middle living areas. Besides the courtyards, a reflecting pool is added adjacent to the living room to bring cooler air into the house. The reflecting pool further flows down becoming a waterfall on the lowest level of the site constantly creating splashing sounds of water throughout the house. Despite being in the middle, the living areas were able to breathe with the tall and wide openings towards the pool and the courtyards.

Two main materials, site-cast concrete, and wood dominate the house. The juxtaposition between the coldness of grey concrete and the warmness of the wood creates a comfortable living space. The two materials continue from the outside to the inside of the house creating an uninterrupted spatial experience. The continuity of materials also creates a sense of cohesiveness throughout the architecture of the house. The 1.1m x 2.2 m was the module of the site-cast concrete pattern. This pattern drives the way the masses are arranged vertically throughout the site. Balconies are provided as a transition space between inside and outside for the upper bedrooms. The terraces on the lower level of the bedrooms further open up towards a sunken garden gathering space.

The characteristics of the site were utilized to be the principal design idea of the house that from the beginning of the design process drove the arrangement of the house geometrically based on functions. Not only did it produce an architecture that is specific to the site but also created a comfortable and functional home that is rich with spatial interconnectedness of multiple levels with different light qualities and shadows. These experiences were unified by the two consistent materials used throughout making the housing complex yet simple.