Nature infused

This interior doesn't just connect with nature outdoors, it also brings it indoors – with a waterfall and organic-look staircase at its heart

Massage room, sculpture garden and living wall behind.

A wall of glass contributes to the staircase

The stair balustrades were plastered and moulded to

A small bird waits to pilfer crumbs from

Mid level circulation. - Nature infused -

This bronze screen door was designed as a

Massage room with stone walls and feature mirrors.

To resolve the staircase's geometry, vertical panels were

Designed by K2LD Architects

From the interior designers:

Setting

Two storeys with a basement, this house is designed as a calming and restoring abode where the owners get to enjoy the tropical weather.

The design allows all rooms to enjoy natural daylight as well as cross ventilation.

Landscape features has been inserted within the scheme.

The building is flanked by a 6m high boundary wall which has been transformed into green walls.

The first level lawn features a punctuation in the centre – which opens up as a water courtyard at basement level.

The sound of the falling water from the first floor to the basement evokes a sense of calmness within the house.

From the street, the house looks like a singular metallic dark grey volume floating over the land.

The shape of the land allowed for two longitudinal bars to be designed across the site, connected by a linkway and a sculptural staircase.

Concept

The basic concept was to create a free plan at the first storey utilising large sliding glass panels.

Structural elements are expressed as blades of stone clad walls on the first level.

Services areas such as the kitchen and back of house areas are clad in timber screens/ panelling as part of a volume inserted within the space.

In contrast, the upper storey is designed as a solid volume – clad in aluminium, which acts as a ventilated façade where it shields the internal brick wall from direct sunlight and at the same time allows the built up heat to escape through the cavity between the façade and the internal brick wall.

On the south-western facade, the openings to the volume above are expressed with vertical teak screens and panelling to provide a textural quality to the facade, to control privacy and also provide light filtration for its occupants.

Project challenges

The project consists of many customised elements that require a high level of workmanship and craftmanship.

1. One challenge was figuring out how to construct the complex geometry of the staircase – where a continuous mobius ribbon-like balustrade weaves from basement level to the second storey.

The design intent was to perceive it as a standalone sculpture that works as a lighting feature at the same time.

At night the underside of the staircase glows against the 8m high vertical greenery at the exterior.

The staircase was perceived to be viewed from all angles and seamlessly achieves that.

2. Another consideration was the sourcing and crafting of the bespoke dry kitchen island, which is carved out of a single block of Carrera.

3. Detailing the customised bronze screen as a porous divider between the Entry Foyer and Living and converting into a door to the Powder Room.

Solutions

1. Staircase

To resolve the geometry, vertical panels were designed in segmented steel frames and curved dry wall panels are fixed to the structure.
The balustrades are then plastered and moulded to the designed curvature – a 3D image was provided as a working reference.
As a standalone sculpture, the angles and curved were viewed 360 degree to ensure a seamless form.
The mock-up was done on site and curvature was sketched on the panelling, which was sanded to the desired outcome.

2. Dry kitchen island

A block of marble was selected from Italy and carved out of the block.
Detailed drawings including all angle and indents were drawn to illustrate the intent.
Two trips were made to Italy to supervise on the form and detail.

3. Bronze screen