Located in the small fishing village of Pontian, Johor, Chye Lye Hock Residence is a renovation project of a 25-year-old family house. The project emerged from personal dedication to the architect's family, addressing the deteriorating condition of the existing dwelling while redefining its spatial hierarchy. The intervention seeks not merely to repair, but to introduce a new shelter—a "parasol"—that mediates between the tropical climate and the domestic activities within.
Concept and Form
"In making for ourselves a place to live, we first spread a parasol to throw a shadow on the earth, and in the pale light of the shadow we put together a house."
Inspired by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki’s quotes from the books “In Praise of Shadows”, the design is anchored by the concept of a singular, unifying roof. This canopy establishes a new horizontal datum that reconciles the varied ceiling heights of the existing house while pulling the horizontality of the surrounding garden into the interior.
The roof form is derived from an inversion of the original entablature. This deliberate juxtaposition creates a contemporary architectural language while maintaining a dialogue with the existing structure. Positioned at the rear of the house, the intervention remains concealed from the entrance, allowing the new spatial experience to unfold progressively as one move through the dwelling.
Reconfiguring the Social Core
The primary intervention focuses on the kitchen, challenging the traditional Southeast Asian typology of separated wet and dry culinary spaces. Opaque masonry walls are replaced with transparent glazing, visually reconnecting the culinary spaces with each other and with the surrounding garden. Doors are placed in between to allow both spaces to be connected when necessary.
To dissolve the boundary between owner and guest, a long, cantilevered dining table extends directly from the kitchen island. This gesture transforms the dining area into an extension of the kitchen, allowing the act of cooking to become a social performance rather than an isolated chore.
Atmosphere and Environmental Strategy
The architecture operates as a passive environmental system. Deep roof overhangs extend outward to mitigate excessive solar gain and provide shelter during the rainy season. Angular skylights and recessed ceiling niches conceal mechanical services such as fans and air-conditioning, maintaining a clean and uninterrupted ceiling plane while introducing soft, diffuses controlled daylight.
The spatial sequence is choreographed as a sensory transition. Visitors enter through the compressed, shadow-filled volumes of the new extension before stepping into the expanded height and brightness of the original house. This contrast between compression and expansion highlights the temporal dialogue between old and new.
Materiality and Tectonics
The material palette is defined by wood, glass, and tiles in heavy, neutral tones grounding the new intervention within the existing masonry. Permanence and precision are expressed through tectonic detailing: joints between contrasting materials are articulated as shadow gaps, while glazing frames are fully recessed into floors and ceilings. By dissolving these physical boundaries, the architecture creates an invisible threshold, allowing a tranquil and unobstructed relationship between the interior sanctuary and the landscape beyond.
