Two Structures, One Home | Stunning Tropical Design |20 Year Old Home Transformation
From the street, a striking modern facade sets the tone. But look closer, a subtle gap quietly teases what lies beyond. What unfolds inside is a stunning transformation in interior design and architecture, challenging everything we know about home extensions, privacy and indoor-outdoor living.
Today, we’re stepping inside a home designed by Chun Hooi Tan of Core Design Workshop where one small gap changes the entire way the house works. What was once a dead space facing a plain wall is now the most powerful part of the design.
In many Malaysian homes, outdoor patios are rarely used. Too hot, too exposed and just too disconnected from daily life. So this house begins with a simple question: What if the patio wasn’t just an extra space, but curated at the heart of the home?
“Initially, when the client approached us, the brief was actually to remodel the house and at the same time to create a veranda and make use of this, the garden space. When we first took over the house, it was already about 20 years old house and the workmanship for the house was quite bad, and that’s where we realized that we would really need to completely remodel the house,” explained Chun Hooi Tan.
“In general, most of the people would do extension by having a structure just built next to the house. But what we do here is actually we completely separate the new extension structure from the existing house. That’s where you see this 600mm gap in between and this gap is all the design is all about. That’s why the house is called Interface. So it’s this gap in between that actually defines the space within the house,” said the architect.
“So what this gap does is actually it brings in the lights, it brings in cross ventilation and also it solves the structure settlements for the new structure. So the two structures are not supposed to be merged but is to stand aside of each other and to create a dialogue between the old and the new,” Chun explained.
“There are louver windows on both the front and back of this 600mm gap in between the two house. By having these louver windows this actually allows the cross ventilation from the front to the back and that’s where it will start cooling down the existing house and also the new structure space.
So that’s why over here the cross ventilation slot is this 600mm. That’s where we try to minimize the opening because like I said you bring in dust and everything. So we try to create a very minimal cross ventilation but it’s two storeys high.
So it actually runs through the middle of the entire house and that’s where it starts to draw all the hot air out from the two sides of the gap.”
Set on a zero lot plot, a remnant of an older housing era, this home sits somewhere between a bungalow and a semi-detached. Typically, zero lot houses face a blank wall on one side, with no borrowed landscape and openness. So how do you make the most out of this space?
The real benefit of the zero lot typology is its privacy from the neighbours. Unlike semi-detached homes, where indoor-outdoor living often feels exposed, this house proposes a new way of living.
“So on the side of this new structure, we have 12 numbers of 6.1 metre pivot doors running along. These pivot doors actually allow the space within to be changed from indoor or outdoor. So that is what we are actually exploring into the usability of the space. So I think the whole main idea is to explore into how to live outdoor but in a Malaysian climate and context.”
“On the outside of these 12 pivot doors, that’s where we created a tree yard that actually forms the picturesque view for the house to open up to instead of just looking at the neighbour’s wall.”
An open plan dining and kitchen are fronted by 12 double volume pivot doors. In this layout, both the wet and dry kitchens become part of the continuous social space, as the entire ground floor is reoriented around the concrete extension. A key benefit of this layout is that smoke and fumes from cooking can dissipate easily.
“The original house had a kitchen tucked at the corner at the back and also had a wet kitchen that is outdoor to the back of the house. So what we did here was to bring the kitchen out from the back to this new extended area and we placed the dining area right in the middle of it. So the idea is to actually allow the user of the house actually to enjoy the space even though when they are doing cooking.”
This is a stunning space ideal for both entertaining and daily life. Open yet private, it maintains an intimate connection to nature.
When planning landscaping, look for what can be reused and repurposed. Landscape are often treated as purely aesthetic, but here, nature is thoughtfully brought inside. We love how the owners doesn’t just enjoy living outdoors, they turn nature into a part of their daily lifestyles with creativity and care.
Behind an invisible door, a bedroom for older family members sits beside the dry kitchen. Shielded from social activity, it’s cocooned in privacy, designed to feel calm and cozy. A side window in the bathroom brings in natural light, while the room opens directly to a garden at the back of the property. With its own attached bathroom and wheelchair-friendly access, it feels almost like a private villa within the home.
The living room is tucked into a quiet corner, creating an intimate space within the larger open layout.
On the first floor, the gym and the master bedroom open onto a double volume concrete extension.
“So that’s where we actually start to reconfigure the spaces of the original house to be focused onto the new structure. So on the upper floor there was this family room on the upper floor which we actually hacked off the floor and turned into a void area and then we start having full-height glass doors on the room to look into this new double volume structure and in fact that’s where this becomes the focal point of the whole house. It’s because of this 600mm gap that actually we can have the entire existing house that open up to this new extended structure.”
The master bedroom is kept minimalist and cosy, creating a calm retreat. But the main feature here is the private workspace, suspended within the double volume void of the concrete extension and connected to the bedroom by a bridge.
“The master bedroom has a new extended area, which is a new study area within this new off-form concrete structure. And it is not physically connected, but by having a steel bridge that cross over this 600mm gap. And this bridge is mounted onto the old structure. So it’s not sitting on the new structure, it’s floating. So if there’s any settlement, this gap become bigger only. It’s still no issue.”
“So this study area has probably the best view to the house because it actually overlooking into the dining and the kitchen area below.”
“So we wanted a space that has no columns in between. So for the new structure to span from the front all the way to the back columns free, we actually came up from a very simple idea, which is actually a curved roof. So how it come from is actually, is pretty straightforward. If you would take a piece of paper and you actually curve it and then you realize that it actually create this stiffness automatically. So that is where we understand that’s what this curved roof was actually all about. So it’s not merely about aesthetic, how it looks, but it’s more of how functional it is actually in terms of structure.”
Surrounded by natural light and framed by beautiful views, it’s a workspace that feels both focused and inspiring.
The master bathroom is my favourite space. It’s a stunning light-filled space with its own skylight. Louvers cast ever-changing shadows while optimizing privacy, natural light and ventilation.
“On the master bathroom, we took down the existing window and we actually created a bigger opening on the bathroom but eventually then we covered up with the louvers and the louvers is actually turned upside down to bring in lights into the bathroom but yet creating privacy.”
“The entire house actually does not use any curtains and we have always designed spaces with doors and windows without curtains. It’s because we believe that when you create a door or windows, it should be able to see something rather than it’s covered up by the curtains but yet we understand that privacy is important. That’s why all the doors and windows are placed in a way that you will still get the privacy from the neighbours.”
The top floor has been thoughtfully designed as a studio space for children, offering them privacy and independence within the same home.
At the rooftop level, the atmosphere changes entirely compared to the ground floor, opening up to an urban view.
“I think we have been constantly exploring into creating new way of outdoor living in the Malaysian context. And this is our latest exploration. I think it’s a continuation from Introverse House is because in Introverse House we actually explore into putting kitchen into a semi-outdoor area which a lot of people question on is it going to be too hot is it everything so to satisfy or to meet the requirements of majority people we are creating a space that can work in completely outdoor yet can be turned into an indoor. So it is a continuation of exploration into outdoor living.”
This home is more than a clever redesign of a zero lot bungalow. It’s a rethinking of space, privacy and outdoor living, blurring the lines between indoors and outdoors, while giving every family member their own retreat.
If you enjoyed this home, check out this story on how this 48 year old terrace house was transformed to this uniquely personal home.
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