The Rice Field House Heritage restoration in Balik Pulau
A kampung house that keeps its draught
Balik Pulau
2023
1,900 sq ft
8 months
RM 410,000
The constraint
The owners wanted a modern kitchen and bathroom. Every quotation they received began by enclosing the underfloor space and glazing the openings, which would have destroyed the cross-ventilation the house has relied on for eighty years.
What we did
Services were run in a new masonry pod at the rear, leaving the original timber structure untouched and still open on all four sides. The stilts stay exposed; the underfloor space stays ventilated; the jack roof keeps venting hot air at the ridge.
The result
A house with a modern kitchen and a bathroom that drains properly, that still does not need air conditioning before 2pm.
Working on something similar? Related reading: the shophouse renovation guide, and materials for Malaysian humidity.
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