In response to the commercialization of some of the areas surrounding the residential district of Kebayoran Baru, and the accompanying changes in traffic patterns, the owners of this home decided to build a townhouse that could also be used to showcase classic Indonesian furniture, fittings, and artifacts in the type of home setting for which the products were originally made.
Designer Jaya Ibrahim Jaya & Associates
A stone finial from Central Java takes pride of place on a pedestal in the middle of the inner courtyard. The courtyard is de- signed in strict symmetry. Behind the stone ornament is a false fa- çade that mirrors the rear ele- vation of the house facing the courtyard. Flanking the courtyard, the glass-encased modern “boxes” also mirror one another.
The living room on the first (ground) floor faces the courtyard. Framing the view are three tall, timber-cased glass doors inspired by doors in colonial houses in Indonesia. The simple pattern of the polished cement floor reflects the geometry of the architecture.
Designer Jaya Ibrahim, whose passion is preserving the style of residential architecture of Java’s big cities towards the end of the colonial period, seized the opportunity in the Solo Home to combine the colonial and the contem- porary, blending elements from colonial Indonesian archi- tecture with the cleaner and simpler minimalist style of today. Similarly, materials that have been used in Indonesian houses since colonial times are here incorporated in more modern designs and construction.The result is a house containing the designer’s personal mixture of architectural and cultural elements, old and new, from East and West.
The side walls of the spacious family room on the second floor are filled with bold, symmetrical white shelving, specially designed for displaying elegant objects. The composition is broken by fabric-covered panels. A wooden grill below the ceiling acts as a kind of cornice while also hiding the air-conditioning units.An intricate basket-weave latticed screen in front of the doors lead- ing to the balcony modulates both views and light. The terrazo floor- ing reflects the geometry of the architecture. Large comfortable sofas, brightened with colorful scatter cushions, complement the room’s strong lines.
The side walls of the spacious family room on the second floor are filled with bold, symmetrical white shelving, specially designed for displaying elegant objects. The composition is broken by fabric-covered panels. A wooden grill below the ceiling acts as a kind of cornice while also hiding the air-conditioning units.An intricate basket-weave latticed screen in front of the doors lead- ing to the balcony modulates both views and light. The terrazo floor- ing reflects the geometry of the architecture. Large comfortable sofas, brightened with colorful scatter cushions, complement the room’s strong lines.
The architectural composition of the house comprises four boxes sheltered within the canopy of a hip roof.The box in front is a single-story volume resembling a light- colored monolith, projecting out towards the front of the site. It encloses the foyer of the house in lieu of the veran-dah which was characteristic of houses in the 1930s and 1940s.The main volume of the house occupies the second, central box, which stretches the entire width of the site. The third and fourth boxes are placed on either side of the central box, at the back of the site, flanking an open court- yard which is the focal point of the house.
Entry to the master bedroom is through a narrow passage culminating in a modern- ist wooden pedestal bearing a wooden bowl. This passage, which becomes an anteroom for ensur- ing privacy, leads to the master bedroom on the left and the dressing room/walk-in closet and bathroom on the right.
A set of Water Spies water- colors of grasshoppers, painted in Bali in the 1920s, and a pair of tall wood-framed glass doors form a backdrop to the sitting room on the first floor. In front of the doors are two contemporary in- terpretations of Khmer-shaped bowls placed on cement pedestals.
The spacious foyer dominating the front volume greets visitors to the house. As they enter, the sounds of water can be heard trickling down the horizontal strips of granite that line both walls, the projections and crevasses in the strips creating a syncopated rhythm in the waterfall. The water flows down to a linear pool that literally delin- eates the area of the foyer, creating a threshold between the foyer and the main showcase-cum-living space.
The plans of the first floor (left) and second floor (right) show clearly the symmetrical arrange- ment of the “boxes,” culminating in the enclosed courtyard at the back of the house.
The backdrop of the show bedroom mirrors that of the sitting room on the opposite side of the ground floor, but the Spies watercolors are replaced here with a large mirror. The red, white, and blue color scheme, inspired by royal colors of the colonial past, provide a fresh contrast to the earthen tones of the furniture and architectural elements.
The living room is filled with elegant furniture and decorative items appropriate for a living and dining room. To one side of the living room is a show bedroom while the opposite side is occupied by a show sitting room.
The entire first level of the house is covered with a tinted polished cement floor. Although inspired by the flooring fashion of the 1930s–40s fashion in which small factory-produced tinted cement floor tiles were used, here the cement is poured in situ, resulting in a harmonious blend with the glossy new elements which have been in- corporated into the house using inexpensive old materials.
An unusual feature of the master bedroom—again harking back to colonial architec- ture—is the raised ceiling whose row of clerestory openings bring natural light into the room. Behind the bed, prints of Neo-Classical architecture are set on a panel covered with Javanese lurik fabric. The furnishing fabrics used throughout the house, supplied by Wieneke de Groot/Nilamare,are made from vegetable dyes and were hand-spun, hand-loomed, and hand-woven in Tuban, East Java. The parquet flooring and cream carpet add to the cosy feel of the bedroom.
The arrangement of the furniture in the study opposite the master bedroom reflects the simple, symmetrical composition of the home’s architecture. The door into the study is covered with fabric from Tuban. All the furniture in the house was de- signed by Jaya Ibrahim, whose inimitable flair and attention to detail are apparent in every room.
Tall tripartite doors, derived from 1940s colonial archi- tecture, mark the end of the living space.While colonial- period doors were usually painted, here the jambs have been stripped bare of paint or ornamentation, the frames have been subtly painted a grayish hue, and the panels have been replaced with glass—in line with the architect’s more modern treatment of the first, third, and fourth “boxes.”
Beyond the living space is the main focal point of the house—the courtyard—which is enclosed by the second, third, and forth volumes and the back wall of the house. A Central Javanese stone finial, presumed to have adorned a prominent town wall around the sixteenth or seventeenth century, is set on a cemented brick pedestal, which also serves as a fountain, in the middle of a shallow, stone-lined reflective pool bordered by a bed of river stones. Behind the ornament is a false façade, introduced to provide sym- metry to the spatial composition.To the left and right of the courtyard are the modern volumes, encased in glass with aluminum frames, and painted a dark brown.Their façades mirror each other, further contributing to the spatial symmetry of the courtyard.These spaces house the kitchen and pantry on the left and an informal dining/ family room and study/office on the right.
Terrazzo is the dominant material used in the bathroom: the room is lined in terrazzo; the floor is covered with terrazzo strips in contrasting cream and gray colors, inspired by the stripes in Javanese lurik fabric; the bathtub placed at the end of the room is set on a low terrazzo base; and on either sideof the room are twin terrazzo- lined basins set in identical cabi- nets. A toilet in the alcove on the left and a shower on the right complete the bathroom suite. More prints of Neo-Classical architecture add interest above the tub. The view of the bathroom from the master bedroom shows the transition in the flooring, from soft, warm, earthen-toned dark wood to hard, cold, bright-colored terrazzo. A pair of latticed sliding doors offer privacy in the dress- ing area and bathroom.
The second floor of the house is dominated by the family sitting room, which extends from the balcony above the foyer in front right to the back where it overlooks the courtyard.The master bedroom, with attached dressing area/walk-in closet and bathroom, occupies the wing to the right, overlooking the courtyard, and is entered through a narrow passageway from the living room. On the other side of the family room, directly opposite the master bedroom, is a smaller study and bathroom. Access to the second floor is via a stairway leading off the courtyard.
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