Private Residences

Location : Penang
Status : Completed 2022

VERITAS Interiors and VERITAS Architects Penang collaborated with JKR Penang to restore and upgrade the Residence of the Governor of Penang, an important heritage building on the island.

The history of Seri Mutiara, as the building is known, dates back to 1888, when a decision was made to build the official residence of the Resident Councilor of Penang on the site in front of the Polo Ground in Georgetown. Seri Mutiara was at that time known as the Residency. The grounds surrounding it today are immaculately kept. It is also home to several very interesting trees, forming a mini botanic garden which, unfortunately, is not open to the public.

The residence accommodates the family of the Governor as well as spaces for official entertainment. The interior design concept of the residence stayed true to the British Colonial character of the building with a few modern touches such as the kitchen and living spaces. Monochromatic tiles and marble juxtaposed against crisp white wainscoting and gold chinoiserie are just some examples of the restoration within this beautiful home.

Client : San Francisco Home
Status : Completed 2019

Sitting on a large undulating site in the San Francisco Bay area, this 600sm single-storey residence characterizes the natural elegance of sub-urban American life-style. The building is surrounded by secondary forests and is sited among a cluster of gardens, swimming pools and waterfalls. The simple lines, large windows and modern uncluttered details of the house are balanced by traditional forms such as gable roofs and an arched entrance to achieve a calm conservative appearance while the colour scheme reinforces a metaphorical relationship to natural materials of stone and timber.

Client : Balei Gadja
Status : Completed 2021

This Federation/Edwardian 1910 bungalow now named after a plantation on Aceh, Sumatra is restoration work in progress. The original roofing slate tiles have been used where possible, but as these came from the Welsh quarry, “Penrhyn” a quarry producing two colour palettes neither of which now match the originals, more suitable colours were found in rural Victoria. Lichen removal and the restoration of the terracotta capping has been done and the rotted iron valleys replaced with lead flashing, oiled to prevent oxidation.

Mornington Peninsula Heritage Award 2021
Restoration of a Heritage Place for Balei Gadja Private Residence, Melbourne, Australia

A family bungalow residence located at Jalan Lorong jarak kanan, Damansara Heights, with a plot of 746sqm / 8030sqf corner land. Envisioned to be a 3-storey bungalow with a basement and amenities such as swimming pool and a rooftop family theatre. A Feng Shui Consultant is appointed to get the best orientation and layout for the occupants. The house is raised by half a storeys, to match with the level at the other side of the existing road.

Thus, naturally making the spaces inside the house to be higher than road level to create a certain level of privacy in overall. The house is in L-shaped layout that embracing the view towards a centre landscape and swimming pool from the dining area. The front facade is introduced with two storey grooved concrete finish statement, while south west facade is wrapped with Perforated Corten Steel cladding to shade the house from afternoon sun. A cantilevered culvatory skypod on the rooftop over the swimming pool is where the proposed family theatre located

Located in the idyllic yet private beach destination of Talpe, the site is a narrow rectangular plot of land stretching nearly 100m from an internal road in a dramatic progression through an enclosed walled compound that ultimately culminates in magnificent views of the beachfront, the choppy waves of the Laccadive sea literally at the doorstep of the site. Coconut trees and native tropical vegetation dot the site.   

The house makes the best of the drama of this linear progression. A realm of separation is created by the walls of the house, effectively marking out the boundaries of the house as an exclusive zone in the already private confines of the site. The site has 2 distinctive characters that stand in contrast to one another; the linearity of the enclosed inland area and the abrupt openness of the beachfront  vista. Standing between both zones, the house negotiates their meeting with a cinematic unfolding of layered spaces.

Anticipation builds with the journey along the long driveway into the site, where arriving through the 2nd gate of the house in a dedicated vehicular compound, the experience of tropical foliage ends with the insertion of desert landscaping, a symbolic paring down of the design aesthetic as the minimal lines of planar wall meeting suspended slab begin to assert themselves. From there, ascent through a lofty pavilion opens up to a panorama of the beachfront as framed by an open air courtyard and the aperture of the living room space. The Miesian open plan of the living areas front an elevated pool deck overlooking the beach. True to the purity of its form, spaces fronting the beach are accorded unencumbered views with glass balustrades that can be screened off by sliding louvred windows. Indigenous materials are used, wherever possible.

Client : Private Residence
This project is the design and construction of a family residence housing 3 generations under 1 roof. The challenge of this project lies in integrating the different needs of each generation in one cohesive design without compromising on the privacy and individuality of each generation. The house is divided into 3 main levels; the ground floor is occupied by the parents, the first floor by the daughter’s family and the second floor by the bachelor son, with a small sub-basement for servant’s occupation and a roof garden for parties.

The house is a 3 storey rectangular volume. The basic floor layout of each level can easily be divided into a main living space that opens into a kitchen and bedrooms on the side stacked a top one another, with variations in size and material finishes. In a vigorous design exercise, every level has a different design concept to give expression to the different living habits and personalities of each level’s occupant. The parents’ wanted a formal and stately living space, with a traditional style wet kitchen concealed in the back.

The son’s level is styled as an open plan bachelor pad with ample dark wood paneled shelves for up to 5000 books, whilst the daughter’s level is designed as a laidback living space with a generous western style kitchen. Invisible codes of behavior are observed and dealt with sensitively in the ambiguous shared spaces of the building to foster a stronger sense of family without compromising on privacy. Each level is accessed via a common lift core with clear demarcation of public and private zones. The different design ideas are unified with common architectural features; each level opens up to a generous verandah along the full length of the house.

Client : Private Residence 
This private residence in Damansara Heights marks the evolution of a series of courtyard houses by VERITAS. The c-shaped plan nestles a shaded courtyard that creates an internal haven amidst surrounding commercial buildings. The original stone wall retained from the previous 1960's bungalow is transformed into a outdoor sculpture which completes the courtyard and gives shade and privacy to the house.

Meticulous details in the building and interior design bring together steel, glass, concrete and timber - combining modern and earthy materials to create a warm modern contemporary architecture. Interior built-ins and fixtures were custom-designed to integrate with the architecture design. The soaring metal roof with timber sun-shades distinguishes the house from its neighbors in Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur. 

The site is located at Changkat Duta Kiara, Mont Kiara, it is a gated and guarded vacant land with around 0.266 ac. The proposed built up area is around 1,300 sqm, which consist of 3 storeys residential + 1 sub-basement and a swimming pool.

The design challenge is to keep the ground floor as transparent as possible, to allow natural ventilation and lighting into certain spaces, series of transitional spaces are introduce to separate the public, semi and private zoning to maintain its privacy and security. The views of the house are introverted/extroverted into the central courtyard and the spacious landscapes surrounded. The swimming pool would be the focal point of the house and it marks the vista point for the later extension.

There are 4 existing matured  trees to be kept for the living lounge and rows of tall trees to be planted along the swimming pool to give the shades from the sun and block the views from the tall building in front. The use of natural finishes and steeped roof define the traditional architecture elements  of the house,  while some of the spaces are aim for column-free to allow the flexibility planning for future extension.

Client : Private Residence 
The Bruas House is constructed within the exclusive neighborhood of Damansara Heights. The rectangular site starts at road level and slopes back to the rear in an challenging difference of level. The site is directly adjacent to an empty plot of land, a clearway that gives away to views of the adjacent school. On plan, the design is a C-shaped courtyard configuration. This ensures that ample natural daylight would infiltrate as much of the deep plan of the interiors as possible. All living spaces are planned around a courtyard, the heart of the house and the recreational zone of the house plan. 

Client : Private Residence 
This 12,000 sq. ft. private residence has a C-shaped plan with an internal garden court that opens out to a golf course view. The contemporary design is softened by earthy natural materials. The residence located at Glenmarie Estate, in Shah Alam, Selangor. 

Client : Private Residence
The site is a polygonal plot of land with an undulating terrain that gently rises towards a tapered, northern point, in the quiet neighborhood of Bangsar. The inward-looking aspect of the site, coupled with the lush existing greenery conceals the untapped potential of the evocation of the tropical villa. And thus the design mines the relationship between the natural and the man-made, within the ordering of a villa—a villa that fuses the influences of resort living and a lifestyle of the 21st century within a classical syntax.

The house is divided into 2 levels; the lower volume comprises a vestibule interlocking with the upper volume via a double volume staircase. The upper floor houses all the living areas, communal and family spaces, the formal arrangement of programmatic elements configured in a linear layout, and intersected by several cross-axial orthogonal volumes. The vestibule is described in a strong parallel linear form, articulated in a pattern of repetitive structural members, just as the rest of the house is governed by a clarity of structural order.

Tropical Balinese influences pervade the villa. Outdoor rooms are created by open shelters confined within barely-there boundaries of meandering terrain and trees. One enters the main living areas of the house by ascending the double volume staircase reminiscent of the steps of an Angkorean stupa, an allusion to the journey to the summit of the temple, an act of paying homage.