W HBC Architects
WHBC Architects
Statement
We are a tiny, two person office.
We remained this way deliberately in response to our world’s focus on ‘growth’. We hope the future lies in diverse small scale independent movements that give devoted attention to their work. For us, design is an act of balancing utility, technology and emotions in a specific place. It’s problem solving while maintaining equilibrium. We aspire to be generalists in a world of specialists because innovation requires a cross-fertilisation of ideas from disparate fields, mixing thinkers and makers, urbanists and craftsmen, and scientists and artists. Our interest in design lies beyond the object. Systems and policies are an integral part of design. We believe in the value of design education for our children’s future. It fundamentally revolves around thinking and making. By combining our architecture practice with teaching, we hope to wake an interest in design in future generations. As Lao-Tze said, “Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity”.
WHBC Architects
Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
A Durian Shed and Dog House
2012
For this project we were asked to design a kitchen shed and a dog house in a durian plantation – a thorny, smelly fruit that naturally fall when they are ripe. We designed a large concrete roof, like a hard hat or gutter, that collects rain and the durians when they fall from the surrounding trees. The land’s large rocks work well alongside the concrete; a case of industrial rocks in contrast with geological rocks. In the same durian plantation, we were asked to build a few dog houses. Disney’s classic Pluto dog house came to mind. We decided to have a little fun and replicate Pluto’s dog house, but in concrete. The design for the dog house was replicated across the plot to create a dog hotel. Each small structure comes with toilets, balconies, wardrobes and skylights to ensure natural daylighting, adequate ventilation, and design-integrated protective measures against mosquitoes or other potentially harmful animals.
Above: Sketch describing the idea behind the shed and how durians are collected. Right: The Durian Shed surrounded by large durian trees and rocks. Photos by Kent Soh
The Durian Shed has low eaves to protect the building from the tropical driving rain.
The skylights on the roof ridge are also a structural bracing for the geometry of the roof.
A concrete bridge connecting the Durian Shed to the Dog Hotel and playground area.
WHBC Architects
Langkawi Island, Malaysia
Telegraph Pole House
2009
In Malaysia, we increasingly saw old timber telegraph poles replaced by concrete. Our client for this project asked us to build a timber house on the island of Langkawi. From the beginning, we made it clear that if we were to use freshly logged timber we could not guarantee its source or whether it would be dry enough. Instead, we proposed building the house with the discarded timber telegraph poles. Compared to freshly logged timber, the old wooden poles were dry, time-tested and stable, with a beautiful patina and orginal markings. For strength, a bespoke steel base was designed to integrate four of the poles into one column – a design that iterated throughout the building. In addition, the steel base also acts as a termite shield. The result is a simple wooden house with large overhangs perches on a hillock surrounded by rice fields.
The Telegraph Pole House sits on a small hill almost hidden by the surrounding trees. Photos by Tian Xing and Kent Soh
The poles were originally used as utility poles – carrying power for street lighting and telephones. Over 400 poles were reclaimed and arranged before they were assembled.
A view from the pool looking back at the underside of the house, and detail of the stair treads made from the off-cuts of the timber poles.
WHBC Architects
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tropical Box House
2012
The Tropical Box House is oriented facing west fronting a forest to optimise natural light and ventilation througout the building, but blocking views over the town to the East. We decided to make an inward-looking house that turned away from the east and protected itself from the tropical sun on the west. On the western side of the building, we designed a concrete egg crate structure that envelops the whole house. The crate shades the internal walls and windows from direct sun, keeping the walls cool. What first seems like a heavy concrete box, it is a very permeable structure that only touches the ground lightly. Placed among the trees, it’s trellis-like structure encourages the natural landscape to grow within it.
Above: A view of the house in its sub-urban context. Sketch describing the idea behind the Tropical Box House
Opposite page: Entrance concrete bridge into the house flanked by trees. Above: The ‘egg crate’ wall on the west, shielding the house from the strong afternoon sun.
The deck, the swimming pool and the mature garden growing from ground level are all enveloped by the protective ‘egg crate’ structure.
WHBC Architects
Pahang, Malaysia
‘The Making of a Bathroom’ Scaffoldings and Indigenous Walls
2013
The traditional building methods of the indigenous people are ingenious. Because the materials come from the forest, they are climatically adaptive as well as beautiful. A communal bathroom for a small community living in the small village of Kuala Krau needed to be completed within six weeks for the indigenous people’s festival. We designed a project that incorporated indigenous building methods, materials and knowledge, and implemented them with a robust, scaffolding structural framework that is long-lasting. We respect the indigenous way of life and their traditions. The indigenous people of Malaysia live in and with the jungle. For this project, we needed to balance tradition with the introduction of modern amenities.
Above: A view over the idyllic village of Kuala Krau, located by a river near the Krau Wildlife Reserve in Pahang, Malaysia. A local woman wearing a ‘sarong’ – a traditional fabric worn by the local indigenous men and women. Right: Bertam leaves are one of the most common building materials in rural Malayisia.
Opposite page: A local man weaving bertam leaves and lashing them together to form a wall. Above: The whole village, including children, help transport and install the walls made with bertam leaves.
Above: The simple scaffolding and roof structure with the plumbing and waste treatment in place, before the attachment of the bertam walls.
The doors are made from dark green tarpaulin, a heavy-duty waterproof cloth used for covering lorries, with traditional sarong’s sewn on. The red sarong section is for women and the blue sarong is for men.
Above: A team portrait with the children that supported the construction. Right: A Burung Merak (peacock) carved by one of the villagers and placed on top of the roof ridge.