15 best green homes in Malaysia

Despite the tight footprint, there needed to be a parking garage required to have enough space for everyone’s cars. The garden was also an essential element in the brief.

The solution was introducing a splice in the section and shifting the functions diagonally. This sectional shift presented an interesting result of stepped gardens and stacked floors. The recessed floors allow the garden to occupy the open spaces while the internal spaces now open into these gardens seamlessly with large sliding doors that slide away.

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Located a 45 minute drive from Kuala Lumpur in Serendah in Hulu Selangor, lies the home that Choon Sin Ho, one of the founding architects of A3 Projects, designed her parents.

The land had been purchased in 1995 and since then had grown into a lush orchard. So when designing the house, Ho approached it as an extension of the landscape, the pre-existing ‘soft architecture’ that the house needed to respect.

Other requirements included not needing air conditioning, low maintenance cost, and suitable for elderly living.

The two-storey bungalow has a spatial arrangement that responds to sun orientation, maximises views of the outside nature, and has a balanced composition of walls and openings for cross ventilation.

Deep open verandahs coupled with mature trees on the west side provide perfect natural shading to the house, while a clerestory skylight allows diffused daylight into the main living spaces.

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Ramesh Seshan, founder and managing director of Seshan Design, had helped design a home for the clients when they were dating, their home when they got married, and now this purpose-built bungalow for themselves and their children.

The family are very physically and socially active, and to cater to this, the ground floor was designed to entertain large crowds with a large foyer leading either to the gym cum pool deck or an open double-volume living room which further opens out to the dining and show kitchen beyond.

The gym-and-yoga space was created to face the pool, which incorporated a climbing wall system, while a large powder room with a large shower was introduced to cater for events such as pool parties where their friends could bring their kids.

The house was designed to have sufficient natural lighting and ventilation through passive means. Spaces were designed with double volumes and skylights to get the most amount of lighting in, while avoiding the harsh heat of the western sun.

To ensure sufficient cross ventilation throughout the house, every window or sliding door and corridor needed to have at least a single panel of adjustable Breezeway louvres.

For the rooms, the designers created a sliding device within the bedroom doors to ensure that air would flow through—even when the doors are shut. Fans further help distribute the air more evenly for comfort. In the event air conditioning is required, it doesn’t have to work too hard to get the room temperature down to the required level, thus reducing overall electrical consumption.

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The home of ZLG Design founders Susanne Zeidler and Huat Lim, in Wangsa Ukay, Kuala Lumpur, represents their personalities and design beliefs and is a curation of the objects and art collected through the years.

The second major renovation of the terrace home included ‘stripping’ away the back elevation, extending the building to form part of the back retaining wall and garden ‘into’ the space. A cage-like steel structure was added to give it a ‘transitional space’, partially covered with clear PVC to protect the open living spaces from rain.

With the new layout, the house is not dependent on air conditioning. Instead, natural ventilation is available through openings in the external wall, and a balanced daylight penetration avoids overheating the interior spaces. 

Existing retaining walls were left as part of the building, allowing plants to grow and changing the view constantly. The wall has been added with concrete ledges as “shelving”.

The corrugated mesh over the transition between inside and outside space allows the rain to fall freely and partially into the landscaped wall and the elevated back garden. 

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Designed to encapsulate its owners’ love for the environment, this modern resort-style bungalow is a net zero energy home in Kuala Lumpur designed by Dr Tan Loke Mun, principal of DrTanLM Architect, director of ArchiCentre Sdn Bhd, and Founder and Director for DTLM Design Group. 

The brief required a house for a two-generational family with generous open living spaces to entertain guests, private rooms with resort facilities customised to each family member’s requirements, and green sustainable features.

Tan made the most of the long, narrow and sloping site while ensuring every aspect of its architecture had a sustainable purpose.

One of the sustainable goals was to be a net zero energy home. This means that the total energy the building uses annually equals the amount of renewable energy created on the site. To this end, the house generates 20kWp of solar PV (solar photovoltaic) with solar panels.

Meanwhile, various passive design strategies were implemented, such as the front façade with a stainless steel mirror finish brise-soleil. This acts as a projection screen of the surrounding trees and sky condition of the day, yet reflecting the harsh sunlight and heat.

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Designed by Domaine Architects, the Penchala Residence was located on a slopey site with a significant level difference of over 9m from the highest to the lowest end. The challenges of its unusual shape were mitigated by its enviable location next to the Taman Tun Dr Ismail forest reserve.

The architect’s sustainable approach began at this stage with the shape and arrangement of spaces being informed by the site and to minimise interference to it.

Passive design solutions were incorporated throughout the house, from the generously proportioned windows to the strategically planned openings which fill the interior spaces with an abundance of natural light.

For comfort and privacy, a white perforated metal screen that looks like a woven patterned fabric was designed on the east-facing facade to filter light and views into the house.

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Within a gated community inside a golf course in Ipoh, Australian firm Marra + Yeh designed a house that reinterprets the traditional Malay house built primarily of local materials with non-traditional construction methods.

Sustainable design is fully embedded into Marra + Yeh’s process which is approached by creating high-performance buildings with quantifiable eco-conscious aspects and making buildings that bring their occupants closer to nature.

The building is oriented along the east-west axis to minimise sun penetration. Large overhangs shade the long sides of the building as the sun moves from north to south during the year. A large deck was created on the north side which creates a low-pressure zone that helps to draw ventilation through the building so that the principal living, dining and kitchen spaces do not require air-conditioning.

The house produces almost three times more energy than it uses and sells the excess back to the grid while landscaping is watered by collected rainwater. The majority of materials were locally sourced for low embodied energy, including clay bricks and aerated concrete blocks, several species of hardwoods, steel and marble.

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Located on the highest point of Tanarimba, Twinkle Villa won CY Chan Architect the best building and a gold award at the Persatuan Arkitek Malaysia Awards in 2017. The client's main request was to keep the site as intact as possible and this inspired the architect to design a house that would blend with nature without chasing the resident bees out. 

The house is built on the flattest land within the site boundary to avoid cutting too much of the earth and felling big trees. In fact, of the 115 found on the property, only two were sacrificed for the building’s final setting-out, which determined the building's final elongated rectangular shape.

Apart from preserving the natural environment surrounding the house, passive design strategies were implemented. This includes having an open plan concept from the entrance to the living space to maximise cross ventilation and isolating the circulation space to the fair-faced concrete facade.

The concrete wall also acts as a thermal mass to absorb, store, and later release heat. All spaces benefit from being double-shaded (man-made concrete roof and natural tree shade) which effectively creates a very low solar transmission to the internal spaces while the balcony spaces also function as shading devices for privacy as well as reducing sunlight penetration.

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A pair of siblings were gifted 1.5 acres of land in Miri by their father adjacent to his home. The grand idea was to build their own houses to form a large compound. For this task, they looked to award-winning Kuching-based firm DNA. 

Principles of tropical design and green sustainability drove the conception of the houses which were designed in unison as a complementary pair. To this end, the houses prioritise open spaces and have seven courtyards in total, all of which allow the outdoors to integrate with the interior while providing visual focus. The houses' layouts were also designed to promote good cross ventilation.

Lighting was an essential component in the design of the houses, and both houses use a lot of secondary aluminium screens as a means to filter and articulate sunlight into the interior and to reduce heat build-up. As a result, the interiors are well-lit with direct and ambient lighting, with a beguiling interplay of shadows and light throughout the day.

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Design Collective Architects (DCA), together with its associate design practice Essential Design Integrated (EDI) created a home, dubbed House 68, comprising modern pavilions connected by large open terraces and water gardens which recently won several local and international awards.

Located within a gated community in Selangor on a sprawling 3,488sqm site, the architects set out to design a home that coexists and integrates itself within a lush garden. The result is a series of pavilions that blur the edges between inside and out, where occupants can be within the home and sitting in the garden all at the same time.

These pavilions have large door panels that fold away to allow for free-flowing cross ventilation. Oversized deep verandas and roof overhangs provide shade from the afternoon sun, and the use of timber screens on the western façade provides filtered light into the living spaces.

Insulated cavity walls and roofing systems keep out the heat and retain the coolness of the interiors, while uPVC window systems reduce heat transmission through their frames. The glorious water gardens and landscaped courtyards provide shade and lower the ambient temperature around the house. 

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Upon acquiring a typical double-storey unit in Tropicana Indah, the couple envisioned their home not only to be individualistic, but also exuding a calm and loving environment to raise their young family.

Besides transforming the house into a haven, IDCandy also “designed [it] to be sustainable, eco-friendly, and have a minimal environmental impact,” says co-founder Shawn Lu.

For the existing terrace house structure that lacked adequate ventilation and natural light, vent blocks were strategically installed to facilitate airflow while preserving privacy.

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Meanwhile, walls were removed to create an open-plan layout, seamlessly integrating the living, dining, and kitchen areas. 

Within the maximised internal space, the layout of the rooms revolves around a central air well housing a solitary tree. It is strategically positioned to welcome sunlight from the rooftop and infuse both floors with natural light and fresh air.

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DrTan LM Architect undertook the refurbishment and expansion of House No 16 in Damansara Heights, belonging to a young couple, who had acquired the vacant 1970s bungalow.

“This gave me the opportunity to conceptualise a clean, modern intervention into the old structure whilst still achieving an industrial vibe,” explains Dr Tan, founder of DrTan LM Architect, whose meticulous renovation was honoured with a Silver award in the Single Residential category at the 2023 Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia (PAM) Awards.

Breathing new life into the structure while preserving its essence, the modern intervention seamlessly integrated various elements of the site, including gardens, retaining walls, and the existing building structure.

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A significant aspect of the redesign was the extension of the front section, incorporating steel, raw brick, and glass elements. This addition not only enhanced the living area but also created a designated space for parking and a private front lawn, delineated by a horizontal raw brick wall.

The six-metre-high retaining wall along the property boundary facilitated an extensive garden and koi pond, which can be viewed from the light-filled, minimalist interior spaces, seamlessly merging the indoor and outdoor spaces.

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The 2.5-storey unit, typical of link houses, was characterised by enclosed kitchens and rooms, an open-air courtyard connecting numerous bedrooms, terracotta tiles, painted timber ceilings, and bathroom tiles dating back to the late ‘80s.

The couple and their four pets turned to Wuuu Design, when they sought to modernise their home with a touch of retreat-like ambiance.

Design director Dom Tee recalls, “The courtyard was a unique feature that we knew could be a statement piece, so we opened up the rooms, creating a spacious atmosphere and turning the courtyard into a focal point that the client adored from the beginning.”

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Drawing inspiration from Carlo Scarpa’s design philosophy, Wuuu Studio crafted cantilever staircase steps with varying lengths and forms, as they connected the dining area to the kitchen and guest hosting area. Whereas, tall trees were strategically placed to enhance spatial connections and conceal the existing staircase.

To infuse vibrancy into the predominantly monochromatic palette, the designers introduced elements such as cast-in-situ concrete for the courtyard staircase, homogeneous tiles resembling cement for the floors, dark-coloured laminates for the cabinets, Japanese crafted wall tiles, and exposed brick walls.

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Nestled within a close-knit community in Greater Kuala Lumpur, Permeability Housed has undergone a transformative journey in design innovation, research and development, and continuous experimentation with new ideas.

A progressive test bed for sustainable architecture that earned recognition in the Alteration and Addition category at the Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia (PAM) Awards 2023; its design ethos prioritises a reduction in building footprint, carbon footprint, weight, construction materials, and logistics.

Materials selection follows stringent sustainability criteria, favouring options with low embodied energy, rawness, and simplicity. Also integrated into the structure are traditional artisanal construction methods and vernacular materials, such as clay channels for planters, cane for fences and screens, and reused timber.

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The steel frame lattice extension not only enhances rigidity and robustness, but also efficiently distributes the load of the existing concrete frame. Meanwhile, circulation spaces like the entrance courtyard, double-storey gallery, atrium, and attic serve multiple eco-friendly functions, including climate control, air exchange, visual screening, and vertical planting.

Central to the design are biophilic principles that leverage greenery as an environmental cushion to enhance airflow, diffuse natural light, and mitigate solar heat gain–features particularly crucial in monsoon regions like Kuala Lumpur.

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Designed by Formzero, Window House achieves the remarkable feat of deepening the homeowner’s connection with the natural surroundings on the edge of a lush tropical forest reserve in Kuala Lumpur.

At the heart of its design concept lies the manipulation of windows–the very essence the house is named after. Each window, outlined with extended eaves, serves as a frame to capture diverse outdoor vistas, seamlessly blending the indoor and outdoor spaces by extending the landscape into the interior.

Housing the windows is a concrete shell that not only enhances thermal efficiency and cross ventilation, but also acts as a pivotal element for privacy control.

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Introducing multi-level landscaping between the concrete shell and the building further blurs the distinction between the house and its surroundings, fostering an intriguing sense of ambiguity.

The concrete shell, fashioned in a telescopic form, gently tapers towards the front and expands towards the verdant forest, both in plan and section. 

This ingenious configuration creates a dramatic giant window frame, offering enchanting views of the lush foliage on one end, while on the other, a more human-scale appearance elegantly melds with the surrounding urban context.

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