Rino & Sarah Residence Pondok Indah, Jakarta

To design a house for a young couple with contrasting tastes challenged architect Yori Antar to come up with an architectural solution that, on the one hand, expressed their differences but, on the other, overcame them. Rino, the man of the house, is a great admirer of the simplicity and honesty of modern design, while his wife Sarah has a taste for the eclectic.The first floor—where Rino spends most of his time—is left transparent, while the second floor— where Sarah has more say—is encased in an opaque “skin.

Yori Antar, Han Awal And Partners, Architects

Reflecting the owners’ inter-est in cars and motorcycles, the residence has an aerodynamic quality about it. A play on opacity and transparency is apparent in its treatment of spaces, openings, and enclosures.

Right Mainly constructed of steel and glass and set on a concrete base, the transparent, canti- levered studio seems to float weightlessly over the pool. It acts as a kind of watch tower control- ling every corner inside and out- side the house.

” From the street, the house appears as a box placed on Villa Savoie, and while it appears to be a two-story structure, the roof—which resembles the propped-up lid of a box—shelters another transparent story above, accommodating a gym. Hence,the four-story structure (including the basement housing a two-car garage, storage, driver’s room, and security post), appears from the outside to be a simple two-story house.

Texture, color, and strategi- cally placed art characterize the interior of the house. In the living room, the minimalist architecture is filled with bold, modern furniture designed by Nada Daoudi Lahlou of Avant Garde Indonesia, who was called in to help Sarah combine her eclectic tastes with Rino’s passion for modern styles. Black floor tiles define the living room space.

Originally designed strictly in black and white, the burnt orange furnishings and bamboo textures in Rino’s study were later intro- duced to harmonize with the color scheme of the rest of the first floor and also to impart a mas- culine look—along with the black flooring. An elegant chaise longue and carved wood cabinets soften the workman-like interior.

 Shattered glass panels sandwiched between sheets of plain glass overlook the stairwell, affording transparency as well as privacy and security.

Encased in glass, the entire first (ground) floor, for the most part, is visible from the street. Only a long balustrade of shattered glass placed in front of the stone-paved terrace and a fence of perforated steel running along the length of the site screen direct views into the house.There is an air of nonchalance about this house. Even the main dining room, which would be hidden in most conventional de- signs, is instead placed in front of the house, facing the street. 

A wood-framed glass counter for storing accessories makesan unusual centerpiece in the walk-in wardrobe-cum-dressing room sandwiched between the master bedroom and bathroom and set along the same axis. The bathroom forms a striking back- drop. Diffuse coffer lights above the dressing room, designed by Hadi Komara, mimic a skylight.

The staircase leading to the bedrooms is lit by large windows facing the front of the house. At the bottom of the stairs, a decorative partition not only screens views from the road, but complements the modernist archi- tectural look of the house. The railing is composed of laminated shattered glass set under a sturdy wood handrail.

In the master bathroom,a large travertine whirlpool bath is set on a “stage” flanked by two grand wood-encased columns and reached by wooden steps.The rust-colored travertine lining the middle part of the back wall forms a dramatic backdrop to the “stage,” which is further enhanced by theatrical lighting.

A blend of “his” and “her” styles occurs in the couple’s bedroom. An eclectic mix of Man- nerist furniture is set against intricately embossed wallpaper on one wall and a stylish combination of armoire and vitrine on another. The vaulted ceiling, waxed smooth- ly, and the lighting of the vitrine add to the richness of the décor.

At the back of the house, large wood-framed glass doors open to the tiled pool, its formal rectangular shape broken by the cantilevered study at the far end. Views of the roof garden above the study can be enjoyed from the back bedrooms and the third- story home gym.

Laminated shat- tered glass is repeated in the railing bordering the verandah at the front of the house. Wooden doors at the end of the verandah lead directly to the dining room for more formal functions.

A spacious pantry, complete with breakfast nook, leads to both living and dining rooms and to the poolside terrace behind.The kitchen, service areas, and maids’ quar- ters wrap around the pantry. A view of the entire living room and entrance to the house is visible through the mirror glass walls of Rino’s study, which projects out over the swimming pool on the far left corner of the site and the back garden.Throughout the first floor, the simplicity of the main building materials are offset by brilliant red accents in the furnishings.

Left A bright agra red wall greets visitors to the house, which is entered through a door encased within a wooden grill on the left. For formal functions, visitors can turn right up a ramp leading to the front verandah and enter the dining room at the far end.

On the second floor, reached by a matching crushed glass-bordered staircase inserted into the middle of the square box, lies the master bedroom suite, a self-contained longitudinal compartment running the entire right-hand side of the house. Another box adjoining it, almost square in plan, houses three bedrooms for the couple’s children and a family room-cum-library.The encasement of thesecond floor plays with the notion of opacity versus trans-parency on the façade of the house. It fragments the vol- umes and diverts the attention of the viewer away from the actual extent of the three-story volume of the house above ground.

Adjacent to the dining room, the pantry joins the drama of the interior décor. Designed by Ingrid Pranoto of Da Vinci, it is slick, fast, and modern with its bright Ferrari red finish and hi-tech appliances.A small dining island allows for quick breakfasts or casual dining.

A number of interior designers have been involved with this project: Hanky Tandayu developed the interior design for the master bedroom suite,Winda Siregar worked on the children’s bedrooms, while elements in the common areas were created by Nada Daoudi Lahlou of Avant Garde. Various eclectic designs for the interior are set within the stark spaces of the first floor in such a way that the interior design and architecture complement each other.

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