RL House, The Strength of Wood in Design

RL House designed by Wiyoga Nurdiansyah Architects, is located in Lombok, Indonesia. The project started in 2018 after Lombok was hit by a devastating earthquake. Although many modern concrete buildings in the area collapsed at that moment due to the earthquake, most of the simple wooden buildings could survive the shock of the earthquake. This is the main consideration for architects in designing this residential house.

Outdoor view of the RL House, Photo by Muhammad

Learning from this incident, RL House is designed with the main material in the form of wood, which has the characteristic of being able to flex when a shock occurs. Architects also consider a triangular truss structure or a rigid and strong system of A-frame structures as the main structure of this house. The selection of wood types is also carefully considered in the design. The house uses Ulin wood as a frame structure, floor, and partitions. Ironwood is very dense and requires the expertise of a special carpenter who has mastered this type of wood. Therefore a structural A-frame house was built in Tomohon, Indonesia, and then assembled in Lombok.

Front view of the RL House, Photo by Muhammad

There are many advantages of the A-frame structure form, one of which is for buildings' natural cooling ventilation system. In addition, the stilt house on sloping land is inspired by the traditional wooden house of North Sumatra, which has a wooden stilt house structure with a high roof. This design is expected to circulate air for the natural living of the house from below. In addition, a large roof is expected to protect the house from heavy rain and tropical heat. The use of wood material is also used as a subfloor vent that passively controls the heat from outside the room. This design allows the air to circulate well where the warm air stays high above the room as the hot air rises, while the subfloor ventilation naturally flows cooler air to provide thermal comfort to the house during the day.

Outdoor view of the RL House, Photo by Muhammad

Outdoor view of the RL House, Photo by Muhammad

The house has several parts, including two large bedrooms, a kitchen, an outdoor lounge, a terrace with a bamboo canopy, and a beautiful outdoor bathroom. In addition to focusing on safe and comfortable homes, Wiyoga Nurdiansyah Architects is also considering minimizing its impact on the area around the house by recycling water, natural composting systems, and large private gardens.

Floor plan of the RL House, source by Wiyoga Nurdiansyah\

Front view of the RL House, Photo by Muhammad

Interior living room of the RL House, Photo by Muhammad

On the side of the house, the massive roof is slightly tilted to give the impression of a link between indoors and outdoors, providing maximum natural lighting in the bedroom and kitchen while still providing sufficient shade to prevent heat from entering the house.

Interior bathroom of the RL House, Photo by Muhammad

Subfloor of the RL House, Photo by Muhammad