By Willy Wilson & Ellen Tang | Feb 9, 2010

Architectural marvel in Damansara

	Gallery

The house sits on the hill, surrounded by lush greeneries.

Waking up to chirping birds and fresh breeze is not impossible for KLites. Country Heights Damansara offers a rare luxury with amenities such as 24-hour security and electric fencing.

Affectionately known as ‘a little forest in Kuala Lumpur’, the exclusive enclave is one of the last remaining freehold residential properties in the capital city. Over 200 acres of land is available and a two-units-per-acre policy is strictly imposed to ensure exclusivity.

It comes as no surprise that the winner of the 2008 CNBC Asia Pacific Property Awards is still one of the most talked about property developments in Malaysia. Perched atop the Damansara hill, the swanky establishment is easily accessed from both Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya.

The zen garden and cutting-edge koi pond.

Star Property spends a day at one of the most outstanding bungalows at the ritzy estate. Designed by LNL Sdn Bhd, the 4-and-a-half-storey bungalow is a fusion of nature, architectural marvel and urban sensibilities. LNL Sdn Bhd was set up by 2 enthusiastic and young designer architects, Adrian Liew Kwok Wai and Looi Mun Kit.

A house on a hill
The house is basically made up of a series of connecting boxes in different sizes with hanging gardens for its compound. With the lush Damansara Hill foliage as a backdrop, the 6-bedroom bungalow showcases supreme harmony in design.

Sitting on 10,300 sq. ft. of land, the bungalow has a built-up area of 15,000 sq. ft that stretches four floors up.

According to MK Looi, the brief given was to build a house that is modern, airy and soothing. The architect aimed for the ultimate perfection and the homeowner, who prefers to remain anonymous, was pleasantly surprised at the draft sent in by Looi.

“We knew that we wanted to create volume matrix – a series of glass-encased boxes – for the house. Each box, which is a room, has a different function. But the design was a little plain at this stage. So my partner and I came up with the idea to connect these boxes with bridges, which essentially function as gardens,” says Looi.

The architectural challenge, however, was not the innovative hanging garden. Instead, it was the construction of the house on a 90 degree slope.

“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. But since day one, my partner and I were determined to turn what would have been a headache for us into something innovative. Of course, having a client who is a builder himself helped a lot,” adds Looi with a chuckle.

When asked about the curious choice of land, the homeowner says that he knew that his dream house could only be built a slope as he has always wanted a house that is vertically spacious. However, he is quick to add that such a foundation would make construction very challenging.

The living room is one of the homeowner's favourite corners.

Nonetheless, what seemed to be a bad location for a house turned out to be the best thing about the project. Liew points out that the unique landscape made it possible for him and his team to build a four-and-a-half-storey bungalow with a swimming pool on the second floor.

“In a downhill landscape, you need to flatten the ground to build a pool. But in this case, we already have that flat ground,” says Liew.

Building on a slope does not allow a normal house layout. Thus, the main entrance is not on the ground floor but on the third floor instead.

Function first
Each floor is designed according to its function. “While each function is connected, it also keeps an appropriate sense of distance,” says Liew. He adds that the house is similar to a big flexible jigsaw puzzle where the pieces fit in several different ways.

There are two guestrooms, a dance and music studio, three storerooms (including a chilled room where the owner keeps his fine selection of wine) and a spacious garden complete with a pond on the lower ground floor (the first floor). The design is basic and clear cut.

One floor up is the second floor. It has an indoor swimming pool, a lounge area and a dramatic double-volume-spaced living room made complete with a home theatre, gold curtains and 6 decorative lamps.

Another floor up (the third floor) is where the main entrance is. Consisting a dining room, a TV area that overlooks the grand living room one level below and a spacious kitchen with a counter that stretches from one end to the other.

Homeowner claims that she enjoys sitting on this red couch (left) while enjoying KL skyline with a glass of wine after a rainy day.

The fourth floor is where the rooms are while the fifth floor, which is half the size of the other floors, only has a study and a rooftop garden. Every level has floor-to-ceiling glass windows, which is LNL’s signature design.

“The idea behind the big glass window panels is to create a visual illustration of linked indoor and outdoor spaces, no matter the panels are opened or closed,” says the proud homeowner.

With a 15 ft. ceiling space between each level, the marbled bungalow exudes magnificence from every corner.

Garden, not terrace
The outdoor space of each level is turned into gardens of various shapes and sizes, and is seamlessly connected by big window panels.

The hanging gardens truly accentuate the “open” philosophy of the house while the steel and glass in the gardens stress on its urban sensibilities. With such polished gardens, the house undeniably enjoys a Zen-like atmosphere.

“It is the variations in those inside-outside patterns that produce the different views within the house,” Looi explains.

The north of the bungalow offers stunning mountain views while the south faces the KL skyline. There is nothing better than to enjoy both views with a bottle of chilled wine from the beautiful gardens.