This opulent fan-shaped house combines modern luxury, harmonious feng shui design and subtle sustainability
Good work speaks for itself, which was how Melvyn J Kanny of MJ Kanny Architect landed a client when he noticed a project Kanny was putting the finishing touches in the same neighbourhood. “We had just completed a house in Seputeh Heights when my then future client purchased a piece of land nearby with the intention of building a house. I guess he liked what he saw because he got in touch to ask if I would be interested in designing his house,” recalls Kanny.
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The deal was sealed when the architect had a closer look at the uniquely shaped piece of land: “The site was a quadrant on a sloped gradient which I thought had great potential for an interesting house. To top that it was opposite an award-winning house which meant that the bar was high, exactly the kind of challenge we relish!”
The home was meant for the client, his wife and two children, and the brief had two important requirements. One was that the house needed to be Feng Shui compliant. Two, the architecture must have an oriental feel with the altar as the main focus of the house.
After taking into account these requests and considering the unusually-shaped site, Kanny was inspired to design a house based on the form of an oriental fan, with the roof opening out like a spread out fan and all the interior spaces organised beneath it. Beneath the timber ceiling, the main altar at the entrance was designed as an intricate Chinese jewellery box with a two-storey high atrium lobby framed by an intricate teak wood trellis and glass.