How Architecture Transforms a Home | Amazing Kokun House Terrace Transformation
Imagine waking up in a terrace house just steps away from the busy LDP highway, yet being greeted by birdsong, sunlight, and lush greenery. This is the story of Kokun House — a remarkable terrace house renovation in Malaysia that transformed a 30-year-old home into a modern urban sanctuary. Designed by Winston of Paperspace, this terrace house makeover balances noise-proof architecture, natural light through skylights, and open-plan living that completely redefines what terrace living can be.
“Some days we are woken up by tweeting birds just outside our balcony and we get up and just look at it and it’s like mesmerized. We are really like living in nature. We are right in the city,” shared the house owners, Dhevan & Victoria.
My name is Alex Lee and in today’s article from Design Seed, we will be revealing a transformation of a two storey terrace house with the influential impact of design and architecture. For those of you who are new to Design Seed, you can check out our channel for more stunning terrace transformation projects that transformed the owners’ lifestyle. Now without further ado, let me present to you the Kokun House, designed by Paperspace.
“My name is Winston and a design principal of a studio called Paperspace. It’s a very small studio but big at heart. So yeah, we just love design.”
“So Kokun as a project is very interesting because it’s facing the highway and it’s a LDP highway. So it’s really busy all day long, and you know there’s traffic jam a special around 4 to 7. So definitely one of the problem is definitely the noise,” shared Winston.
“So the whole Kokun idea is because obviously to buffer off the noise from the highway, we have this large wall that shelters it away. So it’s kind of the same concept where, you know, certain houses are next to the highway, they have these tall walls, they call it a noise barrier. So we apply the same principle in the architecture itself.”
“So the houses is about I think 20 to 30 years old already. So obviously at that time, the requirement and the lifestyle is very different. So previously the house has 2 different split level which we still maintain it for now. But they have a lot of walls so, and then, because of the walls and the way the room is designed, so there’s actually a lot of curve and corners which actually makes the space less efficient.”
“So we tore down a lot of walls, keep it open, and we reorganized the way they live their life according to the function. So that’s how we make it efficient.”
The owners shared, “Initially it was a small home, so when we discussed with Winston we just said we like to entertain. So we like it a nice clean flow, so from the dining right up to the hall, and if we open up the sliding doors right into the garden. So one huge space.”
“We like a lot of antique furniture, and yeah it’s not just for display but we’re functionally using it right like our dining table and whatever else.
A smaller laundry area which was actually sufficient from our needs perspective, and a smaller red kitchen, but we made the dry kitchen the big space that connected to the entertainment,” shared the owners.
The family shared, “In being designed for the house, we have one hidden room that is actually multi purpose for us to keep our stuff and it also can use as a study where we’re chosen to fully utilize it as a storage space for example.”
Most terrace houses would struggle for natural lighting, and the only natural lighting that will be able to enjoy is the lighting that comes from the front or the rear of the house, and that’s where you deliberately only have a view of your neighbors. Having a courtyard is indeed a luxury and a plus point if it is designed properly.
The owners told us, “So at that point in time I couldn’t envision how a skylight would actually be incorporated into this home till the point when he opened it up and then I say ‘Wow.’ Okay that’s a lot of light, but even then I think it’s filtered so it’s not so hot you know and I just enjoy the fact that there’s like a hollow opening with lots of light coming in.”
Winston explained, “So having a skylight solves the problem, but you have to do it in the right way, in a sense that if you do it just for the sake of adding it and without planning the right location for it, that particular space can get really hot and it’s not usable, especially during the afternoon.
So the way you detail it, you have to make sure that is slightly probably raised from the perimeter, and then around the perimeter just below the skylight and the wall you have these louvres where hot air is released, and your position is such a way that it’s not directly above your living spaces.”
Dhevan shared, “Yeah the structure of the staircase is original and it was very unique. This is like the character of the home. Actually you sit down here certain time of the night or even during the day when the sun meets down, you can see a different design on the white walls and it’s just amazing because it changes throughout the day.”
The outcome of this restructured floor plan is an extraordinary transformation where you can enjoy the natural lighting from within the property and at the same time enjoy pockets of greeneries.
Dhevan explained, “We opened up the upper hall, so normally when the old house layout was when you walk up the stairs there’s a wall facing you, so you only get into the room. So what we actually did was we extended both rooms sideways outwards and then we broke up the void space in the middle. So give us another study area plus our master bedroom. We created another study area behind the bed.”
“So in my son’s room I have some privacy because his plants are thriving, you know, it covers up the entire back window.”
Victoria explained, “We also wanted our own personal private space, and therefore when we were designing the master bedroom and included a small little garden for us, as well as a full window that could open up into a private space as well. That’s where in the evenings we envision ourselves you know, just sitting down and enjoying a drink or two just before we go to sleep. Things like that.”
Winston explained, “We created a courtyard at the master bedroom where it used to look at the highway, and now they actually have a opportunity to sit outside, have a wine, look at some landscaping.
“We use swimming pool tiles, we’ve used them in the master bathroom and it creates this shadows, it creates this reflection and then it bounce back the color of the ceiling. Experience a really calm and calm experience, where you actually have a frangipani outside as well. Yeah it’s just really resorty and I love that area.”
The exterior architecture highlights in an exquisite detail, with an architecture facade shape to the combination of linear outlines and organic curves. It is clearly relatable to the given name by the architect, the Kokun, as though the home is enveloped around by an organic form made out of concrete.
Winston shared, “Built a tall wall at the top, so that’s how it created this tall like solid facade from the outside. And the way we create the facade is sort of have integrated a bit of curve in all that, so that it’s not too hard to the surrounding as well.”
“So again because the wall it’s really tall, we wanted to soften things up with landscaping. So we created a driveway, we used grasscrete where we have grass growing. So the way we position the grasscrete, and if you see it is such an angle that you have part of it there’s a solid concrete flooring and part of it is grasscrete.
So we position such a way that is actually reacting according to the sun direction. So obviously grass grows within the grasscrete, and we try to avoid areas using grasscrete at the areas where it doesn’t get a lot of sun, then obviously then it becomes really bare and all that.”
The view along the streetscape would highlight this home as a modest white organically formed architecture that envelopes life from within, which is represented by the healthily growing frangipani. Coupled with the vertical linear frame of the architecture design and a creative display of signage design, it creates a refined detail that adds so much emotions and character to the architecture.
Winston shared, “So when it comes to the design, is all about creating consistency in terms of the detailing. So obviously when we have curve detail outside, we have to bring it inside. The client is a mixed family, so we wanted a mixed culture in the house design itself. So that’s where we create, we added a lot of tiles with textures, with patterns, it compliment the existing terazzo as well.
“The red color is actually part of their lucky color. I mean according to their, I mean they have a Feng Shui master as well so, I mean that is their lucky color. So that’s why the landscaping that we choose a plant that bears red flowers as well, and then some of the, even the Peranakan tiles that we choose have red accents as well. So it’s just part of their personality and part of their lucky color, so we want to integrate it everywhere.”
The standard floor plans of most conventional properties are not crafted to suit every single household, or could it be the lifestyle of today’s habitation of Malaysian’s has changed or evolved?
Is it time for greater attention to be emphasized into the design of new floor plans of today’s modern development that could permit for easy personalization? Share your comments below and let us know what are the challenges that you’re facing with your current property.
If you enjoyed this story, don’t forget to check out the top 10 interior design trends from Nu Infinity’s stunning homes here!
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