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West elevation of fully expanded house showing the perforated aerated cement block on the lower floors. | Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Mario Wibowo (photographer)
West elevation of fully expanded house showing the perforated aerated cement block on the lower floors.

Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Mario Wibowo (photographer)

The expandable house combines a conventional steel-reinforced concrete frame with an aerated concrete block cladding and an innovative composite bamboo cladding. | Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Mario Wibowo (photographer)
The expandable house combines a conventional steel-reinforced concrete frame with an aerated concrete block cladding and an innovative composite bamboo cladding. 

Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Mario Wibowo (photographer)

Locally made retractable bamboo screens are used for rain screens, shading and privacy. | Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Mario Wibowo (photographer)
Locally made retractable bamboo screens are used for rain screens, shading and privacy. 

Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Mario Wibowo (photographer)

Hydroponic cultivation of leafy greens in the companion vertical kitchen garden (or kebun susun). | Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Mario Wibowo (photographer)
Hydroponic cultivation of leafy greens in the companion vertical kitchen garden (or kebun susun). 

Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Mario Wibowo (photographer)

Interior detail showing the perforated aerated cement block and composite bamboo panels. | Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Mario Wibowo (photographer)
Interior detail showing the perforated aerated cement block and composite bamboo panels. 

Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Mario Wibowo (photographer)

Interior view with the composite bamboo panels. | Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Mario Wibowo (photographer)
Interior view with the composite bamboo panels. 

Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Mario Wibowo (photographer)

The project supplements the dynamic logics of auto-construction endemic to rapid urbanisation in peri-urban regions. | Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Mario Wibowo (photographer)
The project supplements the dynamic logics of auto-construction endemic to rapid urbanisation in peri-urban regions. 

Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Mario Wibowo (photographer)

All technologies employed in expandable house were sourced locally. | Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Mario Wibowo (photographer)
All technologies employed in expandable house were sourced locally. 

Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Mario Wibowo (photographer)

Detail view of the kitchen garden. | Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Mario Wibowo (photographer)
Detail view of the kitchen garden. 

Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Mario Wibowo (photographer)

Site plan. | Courtesy of architect
Site plan. 

Courtesy of architect

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Expandable House

Award Cycle: 2020-2022 Cycle

Status: Shortlisted

Country of origin: Indonesia

Location: Batam Riau Islands, Indonesia

Client: Batam Municipal Planning Authority and community leaders of Kampung Batu Besar neighbourhood

Architect: ETH Zurich / Stephen Cairns with Miya Irawati, Azwan Aziz, Dioguna Putra and Sumiadi Rahman

Completed: 2019

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Tailored to and learning from the rapidly expanding peri-urban fringes of Asian cities like Batam – the world’s fastest-growing in 2015 – this new sustainable dwelling type is designed to be flexibly configured around its residents’ often precarious resources over time. Its steel-reinforced concrete frame has aerated concrete block cladding at ground and composite bamboo cladding or retractable bamboo screens above. It is based around the following five principles. (1) Sandwich section: the roof can be hoisted to add levels – the foundations can support up to three floors. (2) Domestic density: the house encourages densification at domestic and neighbourhood scales. (3) Decentralised systems: rainwater harvesting, solar panels, septic tanks and passive cooling principles are integrated. (4) Productive landscapes: a vertical kitchen garden and bamboo nursery are included. (5) Seed package: the technology, resource strategies and design guidelines can be developed in different ways depending on local social, cultural and environmental conditions.


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