An award-winning design team from Jakarta, Indonesia has breathed new life into the boxy home design. The Realrich Architecture Workshop (RAW architecture) team led by Realrich Sjarief created an airy upscale home in Indonesia called Rumah Kotak Kayu or Wooden Box House. The three-level home features immaculate wooden floors, sprawling windows, and multiple terrace gardens. The result is a unique residence that allows its owners to enjoy life inside, outside, and sometimes both at the same time.
The Jakarta-based architecture firm created the home for a client in Puri Indah, an upscale residential area of West Jakarta. Completed earlier this year, the Wooden Box House sprawls across 5,300 square feet of living space. It includes a spacious owner’s suite, multiple guest rooms, as well as a housekeeper’s suite. Nearly every interior space (except for the bathrooms) is connected to the outdoors, either directly via a private balcony or terrace with a lush green garden, or visually through floor-to-ceiling windows. The unique multi-level building shape means the terraced gardens add to the view from inside the home.
The architects called for five different types of locally-sourced wood to be used throughout the home’s design, both inside and out. The facade and interior ceiling are composed of dried pine wood planks of various dimensions, chosen for its durability and coloration. Iron wood reclaimed from a phinisi boat adorns the home’s floors, along with the slightly less expensive bengkirai wood, which also makes up the outdoor decking. The Wooden Box Home also features elegant teakwood in the main area bedroom, library, and foyer area. Merbau wood comprises the home’s single front door. It is the most readily available material in Jakarta, making it a sustainable option that is particularly suited to the environment because of its tolerance on expansion.
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