The facade of House 1A in KL is inspired by a collage of rectangular geometry that resembles the overall building elevation. Photos: Veritas Architects

With an elevated design and striking facade, House 1A in Kuala Lumpur has all the markings of good design.

Completed at the end of last year, the house is characterised by a set of stepping gardens – landscaping that starts from the external road to the raised level where the swimming pool is – and box geometry.

“The bungalow’s overall structure is formed by a series of boxes that allows more natural lighting to penetrate the interior and still fulfil the privacy requirement from the client,” explains architect Michael Tan, from Veritas Architects.

Corrugated fair-faced concrete walls and metal screens provide shading to the three-storey house – designed in an L-shaped layout – with the screens exuding a warm colour in contrast to the walls.

House 1A's overall structure is formed by a series of boxes that allows more natural lighting to penetrate the interior.

“The facade’s pattern is inspired by a collage of rectangular geometry that resembles the overall building elevation. The material used is corten steel and the facade acts as a screen that offers both privacy and sun shading,” says Tan.

“The owners of the house also wanted privacy, hence the design is elevated from the ground level by 1.5m, resulting in a naturally lit and ventilated basement. We also created a courtyard and pool for the client, which can be viewed from the inside,” says Tan.

Lush outdoor landscaping softens the external environment, giving a sense of balance and harmony.

For the family of five who live there, their favourite part of the house is the 52sq m skypod, which is cantilevered and overlooks the KL city centre skyline.

The skypod, where the family theatre is located, is cantilevered and looks out towards the KL city centre.

Located over the swimming pool, it is where the family theatre is located.

“That is where the family will gather and spend time together at night after work,” says Tan.

The building also features solar panels that provide energy for the water heater and rainwater harvesting system to irrigate the landscape.

One of the key challenges in designing the house was maximising the living spaces.

“Being on a corner land (746sq m), there were two setbacks facing the main roads, so we had to come up with a design that did not compromise the overall building structure and prevent it from looking like a big, boxy house, ” says Tan.

Indeed, the architect managed to successfully circumvent that challenge.