JH House: Tropical Living in a Four-Level Home in Indonesia
JH House stands in Tangerang, Indonesia, as a contemporary house by Cowema Studio Architect that folds tropical light, shade, and circulation into a tight urban plot. The four-level home draws breezes through living areas, terraces, and a rooftop retreat so that daily life tracks sun and shadow across indoor-outdoor thresholds. Its layered geometry and expressive lighting turn climate-responsive planning into a clear architectural presence for a modern family.
Planting frames the elevated entrance, softening the geometric façade as light slides across louvers and white planes. Inside, long views pull toward the pool and sky, tying daily routines to shifting brightness and shade.
This house in Tangerang, Indonesia, by Cowema Studio Architect, is a four-level urban home tuned to tropical light, ventilation, and outdoor connection. The project uses layered volumes, deep overhangs, and precise openings so rooms stay bright yet protected, with air moving between shaded garden edges, water, and roof level. Indoor and outdoor zones interlock, keeping living areas open to breezes while preserving privacy above.
Layer Volumes For Shade
From the street, bold lines and stacked forms read as a clear composition of solids and voids. Floating roof planes project beyond the walls, casting broad shade that cools glazing and terraces during hot hours. Dark vertical louvers stand in front of bright surfaces, cutting glare yet allowing filtered daylight to reach deep into the house. This play of opaque, slatted, and transparent planes manages solar gain while giving the exterior changing depth across the day.
Open Living To Water
The ground floor holds the most public rooms, laid out around views and access to the pool and deck. An open living area stretches toward the water, so sliding doors can vanish and turn the main level into one long, breezy volume. Pantry and dining zones sit along this edge, allowing meals to unfold with reflections from the pool and cross-ventilation from opposite sides. Here, indoor and outdoor terraces act as a single social field, yet roof overhangs and landscaping temper sun and heat.
Stack Private Realms Above
Above the communal level, rooms become more secluded while still staying in dialogue with air and light. The master suite pulls back from the street, gaining a balcony that looks onto greenery rather than traffic and hard pavement. Children’s and guest rooms are organized so windows and cuts in the volume catch prevailing breezes, easing reliance on mechanical cooling. Strategic apertures also frame narrower outlooks, aligning comfort with controlled views instead of wide, fully exposed façades.
Lift Leisure To The Roof
At the top, a semi-open rooftop area extends daily life into the sky. This elevated terrace picks up lingering breezes after ground level has quieted, giving another outdoor room distinct from the pool deck. Partially sheltered zones make the roof usable in strong sun or during light rain, while parapets and planted edges maintain a sense of enclosure. The level becomes a flexible setting for gatherings, informal exercise, or quiet evenings above the neighborhood.
Landscape and lighting strategies tie the house back to its climate once daylight fades. Linear LED strips trace structural lines and soffits, so form remains legible without harsh brightness. Gentle illumination on planting and textured panels adds depth to outdoor rooms and walks, allowing the family to move comfortably between inside and out. The result is a home where structure, light, and air work together, keeping tropical living present on every level.
Photography courtesy of Cowema Studio Architect
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