Malaysian architect Eleena Jamil has completed a house and studio space near Kuala Lumpur, with airy interiors and terraces shaded by canopies built using a hybrid of bamboo and green-painted steel.
Named Anjung – a Malay word for a terrace – the project comprises a four-bedroom guesthouse opposite a small workspace for Jamil‘s own studio.
Both single-storey buildings were made using local, minimally processed materials.
Central to this material palette are whole bamboo stems or culms slotted into green-painted steel holders, which support roofs topped by sheets made from recycled packaging above compressed earth walls created using local soil.
“In a country where labour and fuel remain relatively inexpensive, typical construction tends to rely on carbon-intensive materials such as reinforced concrete, plastered clay bricks and concrete tiles,” Jamil told Dezeen.
“This project offers the opportunity to replace some of these with greener, more sustainable alternatives.”
Anjung’s guesthouse is organised around a central courtyard, with its internal spaces kept relatively modest to maximise room for this external space and a generous verandah to the west.
Simple rooms enveloped in white-painted brickwork open onto a raised concrete and stone walkway around the courtyard, shaded by the bamboo and steel roof which also helps to channel rainwater into two collection points made from reclaimed concrete pipes.
Stems of bamboo were used to create vertical screens that offer some privacy in front of room entrances and around the terrace, with the steel holders that support them painted dark green to match the rest of the project’s metalwork.
“The form is climate-driven,” Jamil told Dezeen.
“The design incorporates vernacular features such as verandahs and terraces, sheltered by large roof overhangs that provide shade for outdoor activities,” she continued.
“At the heart of the house, a central courtyard serves as a private, open space, orienting all rooms toward it. This configuration promotes cross-ventilation while facilitating efficient rainwater harvesting,” she added.
The studio occupies a much smaller footprint, with a space for eight back-to-back desks surrounded by raw brick walls and a bamboo truss ceiling.
The main workspace was bookended by a meeting room and a small standalone workshop to the east.
Sliding doors open the workspaces out onto a verandah to the north, while clerestory glazing to the south provides additional light above a wall of exposed compressed earth bricks.
Based in Kuala Lumpur, Jamil began her practice in 2005. Previous projects include a bamboo pavilion for Kuala Lumpur’s botanical gardens, which also used bamboo stems to create a roof supported by branching columns.
The photography is by Zakee Man.
The post Eleena Jamil shades Malaysian guesthouse with bamboo and steel canopy appeared first on Dezeen.
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