The YD House designed by Jakarta-based Isso Architects is driven by attention to detail and soulful, minimal aesthetics. Built airy within 87 sqm of petite space, the one-floor concrete and brick residence witnesses a steady inclusion of a “half-moon” motif dressing its modest being. The clients, a young, professional couple in their 30s, wished for an uncluttered, “uncomplicated and homely house” that hosted space for their individual and shared activities, an abode of repose away from the cacophony of urban life. Isso Architects turned this compact site into a bright and sunlight-perfumed, three-bedroom dwelling by integrating their signature style of crisp minimalism and intended functionality.

Meticulously designed down to the smallest detail, the residential design revels in its soothing, harmonious nature, contrasted softly with the coarse concrete exterior, where every employed feature carries a purpose. From the cream walls to the humble wooden accents, there is no extravagant indulgence, no object crying for attention.

An effortless materiality of concrete and timber gives the house its characteristic cosy, clean and comfortable conviviality, evocative of hygge. The house becomes an almost untouched, neutral canvas that lets the subtle architectural, lighting and décor detailing, as well as included greens, stand out delicately.

Suffused with a calm colour palette of soft beige and warm timber tones, the YD House occupies a long, narrow site in a residential neighbourhood in southern Jakarta in Indonesia. Its rather solid looking, unusual façade remains pleasant and welcoming, as is the experience felt while entering it, a sojourn intentionally down to earth. A simple, wooden lattice ceiling channels abundant natural light into the main entrance, with a foyer and a compact, inner courtyard that wait in warm greeting. "The foyer acts as a transitional space which softens and blurs the outside world with the living spaces that await within,” says Wibisono Soegih, studio principal, Isso Architects.

The three primary rooms of the residential architecture, the living, dining, and master bedroom, are all blessed with a direct view of the sun-kissed courtyard. The living and dining area features an open plan, with sliding doors to encourage better circulation throughout the space, and perpetuate a steady dialogue between the indoors and outdoors. "As such, in this rather narrow space, we still want this family of two to have a pleasing spatial experience,” Soegih adds. The kitchen island is designed with a durable, semi-circular leg, which also functions as a partition separating the pantry and the living area without limiting the space.

The tall tower topped with the half-moon motif fronting the Indonesian architecture not only adds character, but performs a crucial role of "stack ventilation" (chimney effect) to properly aerate the laundry room. Similarly, all rooms of the home are designed for proper and direct ventilation, maximising air circulation and intake of natural light.

A service kitchen with large windows behind the half-moon shaped concrete façade allows air to circulate and release pungent smells. The solid part blocks views from the street, ensuring privacy to users inside. According to Isso Architects, air circulation and the human scale remained key aspects that shaped this defined space.

"This house design is very much inspired by the ever so familiar semi-circle," the Indonesian architects share, explaining the inclusion of the half-moon shape adorning the façade, and its persistence seen inside the interior design, as well as the furniture, which ultimately ties it all together.

"The solidity is actually fluid. The unusual turns out to be familiar after all," the Indonesian architects explain, who preferred a much more contemporary, almost Nordic aesthetic unlike the prevailing usage of tiled roofs, bamboo arches and organic forms typically seen across architecture in the tropical country.

Project Details

Name: YD House
Location: Jakarta, Indonesia
Area: 87 sqm
Year of completion: 2021
Architect: Isso Architects
Lead Architect: Wibisono Soegih
Design team: Stephanie Tatimu, Muhamad Rifsa
General Contractor: Meidi