Kantor Sagan Lantai Dua, Sagan — 2023. Photograph: studio photography collaborator.
Architectural interior
Kantor Sagan Lantai Dua
The site and the problem
The upper floor of a standard shophouse: deep, narrow, and glazed on one side only. The floor plate is 6 by 22 metres. The back of the space sits fourteen metres from the only source of daylight and had to use artificial light all day. The client refused to move because the location was right.
The clear height was only 2.5 metres beneath the suspended ceiling, with the third floor’s mechanical services running above it. This is interior work, but the problem is architectural: what had to change was the envelope and the slab of the building, not its furniture.
Massing study
Three alternatives were tested against one question: where could light reach the deepest part of the space from.
Alternative A— Ditolak
Rejected. Keeping the slab intact and adding more lighting is the cheapest option, and it is exactly what had already failed over the two years the client rented.
Alternative B— Terpilih
Selected. A 9 m² slab opening at the rear third cuts through to the roof and brings light to the deepest part.
Alternative C— Ditolak
Rejected. A long opening at the side would require demolishing a load-bearing wall belonging to the adjoining building.
Design decisions
01
Nine square metres of slab were removed to make a void to the roof
Not a decorative decision. The void sits exactly at the rear third of the space, cuts through to the roof, and is closed with a skylight.
02
Steel sections frame the slab opening
The structural engineer recalculated the load path back to the existing columns. This is what distinguishes interior work handled by an architect: the first question is whether the building may be cut into, not what colour to use.
03
Partitions are 1.8 metres high and stop short of the ceiling
So that air and light from the void reach the full depth of the space. Visual privacy is still obtained; air movement is not cut off.
04
The suspended ceiling was removed and the services set out in the open
The clear height was only 2.9 metres. Pipes, ducts, and cables were arranged on a single plane and painted one dark colour. The room gained 40 cm of height at no structural cost.
05
Circulation runs straight from the stair to the void
A single corridor with no turns, so that the deepest part of the space stays visually connected to the entrance.
Working drawings
Plans, sections, and details from the working drawing set for this project. Annotations inside the drawings stay in Indonesian: the people reading them are on site.
Regulatory compliance
| Parameter | Provision | Used |
|---|---|---|
| KDB (building coverage) | unchanged | unchanged |
| KLB (floor area ratio) | unchanged | reduced by 9 m² through the void |
| Slab demolition | structural calculation required | 9 m², calculated by the engineer |
| Height | unchanged | unchanged |
| Permit | no new PBG required | notification to the building management |
The provisions applied to this site in this year. Provisions differ between areas and can change. The abbreviations are the Indonesian regulatory terms and are kept as they are.
Existing condition
Construction
Dated progress photographs, in chronological order.
Built
What changed on site
Once the ceiling came down, a water pipe run from the third floor appeared that did not exist on the original building drawings. It had to be diverted, and one partition moved 70 cm. The work took four extra days.
No project runs exactly as drawn.
Credits
- Client
- A twelve-person consultancy moving from a smaller rented space
- Structural engineer
- Independent practice, Yogyakarta
- Contractor
- Main contractor
- Photographer
- Studio photography collaborator
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