Halo House

Quietly sitting in the corner of a calm neighborhood in Semarang, Halo House takes form of con-temporary barn that is arranged in respect to location of existing trees on site while adopting passive design in the house. There are two components in the house; one is the pitched roof structures arranged in elongated manner along the north south axis, another is the thin platform in the center connecting the pitched roof structures. This platform is then punctured where existing trees are located in a circular manner while defining the courtyard throughout the house. The circular expression is then adopted further to accentuate main areas, such as entry, dining area, and swimming pool. These circular voids, or as we call them “halo”, give strong characteristics to the architecture and spatial experience in the house. The halo allows light to penetrate in an interesting form into the house throughout the day and gives shape to the falling rainwater.

The exterior of the house is mostly cladded with black charred wood that was made through the Shou Sugi Ban method, a process that intentionally burns wood to achieve a material that is more dura-ble towards weather, termite resistant, and fireproof. More importantly, the dark and charred expression creates an interesting architectural quality that implies stillness and a calming ambiance while also be-coming a contrasting presence to circular light that comes from the halo. To balance the darkness of the charred exterior, the interior uses mostly wood furniture, raw concrete for walls, and polished concrete for flooring. The incorporated materials also act as a response to the specificity of the user’s needs. The house was designed for a young couple with three small children. Because the children are allergic to fur or wool, there are no carpets being used in the house. In response, handmade custom tiles are used throughout the house, creating a unique tactile experience as a replacement for the carpets.

The house is arranged in a way that it creates multiple layers of indoors and outdoors so each room has access to air and light on two sides of the room. As one arrives at the entry carport, one will be greeted by a wide concrete ceiling platform with a halo and a large wooden screen separating the public and private areas. One could peek through the screen, viewing the courtyard behind the dining room and the pool. Entering the house, one arrives at the dining area that is situated as the centerpiece of the house as it connects to the courtyard on the south and the west side and to the swimming pool on the north side. The kitchen sat a little bit back next to the dining area, defined further by the lower wood-en ceiling and wooden built-in furniture. The swimming pool could be accessed through three areas: the dining area, living room, and master bedroom. One will experience the swimming pool being in between indoor and outdoor spaces as the haloed concrete canopy shelters half of it while the rest is completely open. Close to the dining room is the living room, which has direct access to the west courtyard and the swimming pool. The stairs to the second floor sit in the living room. The stairs are made out of a 15mm dark grey steel plate that works as both the railing and the structure of the stairs, while the steps and handrail are made of wood, balancing the coldness and firmness of the structure with the warmth of the wood. As a whole, the stairs act as a sculpture quietly decorating the living room.

The house also adopts a passive design strategy through its elongated placement of the massing of the second floor on the west side of the house so it gives shade to the rest of the house in the afternoon. The west side has a quite solid facade, only allowing light and air into the house through the wooden screen positioned in the west courtyard and the stairs. On the east side, the facade is com-pletely covered with a wooden screen acting as a double skin that gently filters the morning sun, which creates an array of sunrays and shadows into the corridor. The operable wooden screens open up to rows of circular roof gardens and halos, arranged alternatingly between greeneries and voids.