Bống’s House: Redefining Indoor-Outdoor Living

Renovating Old Homes: Challenges and Opportunities

Renovating old homes involves a comprehensive reconfiguration of both the interior and exterior, aiming to adapt the building to contemporary user needs while preserving its historical or traditional character. In houses built decades ago, the passage of time and previous alterations often pose challenges in reorganizing spaces in a practical and suitable manner.

Challenges in Interior Design

When working on a small-sized home, finding a balance between areas designated for sleeping, cooking, and relaxing, as well as arranging living spaces in a way that ensures family interaction and comfortable leisure time, becomes complex. Adding or modifying bedrooms, or designing a spacious kitchen, requires careful consideration of space allocation and flexible usage.

Preserving the Traditional Character

Beyond functional aspects, renovating traditional homes aims to preserve aesthetic elements, such as craftsmanship or specialized finishes like traditional varnishes. Contemporary design seeks to respect the historical identity of the place while meeting modern comfort requirements.

Enhancing the Home’s Infrastructure

A fundamental aspect of renovating old homes is reinforcing the existing structures to ensure safety and longevity. In this case, the columns and beams were strengthened, and the concrete floor slabs were improved in areas affected by long-term water leakage. These measures are essential to maintain the building’s stability and prevent further deterioration of its infrastructure.

Modifying Vertical Circulation Elements

Regarding movement within the home, the elevator system remained unchanged, while the concrete staircase was replaced with a staircase made of 12 mm thick steel plates. This change allowed for adjusting the stair height and improving the visual appearance, giving the design a lighter and more fluid feel compared to traditional heavy materials.

Integrating Outdoor Spaces and Water Features

Expanding the pool and integrating it within the garden exemplifies how outdoor spaces can enhance living quality. Adding a large water element in front of the house not only serves an aesthetic purpose but also helps improve the local microclimate by cooling the surrounding air. Additionally, surrounding plants can contribute to environmental quality and provide a visual and functional balance between indoor and outdoor spaces.

Designing Multi-Level Open Spaces

Multi-level spaces are an effective strategy to enhance fluidity between living and dining areas. By using interconnected and voided sections, a sense of spaciousness and continuity between different daily activities can be created, as if there is a “continuous ceiling” linking the interior to the outdoor garden. This approach gives the home a sense of depth and facilitates both visual and functional movement between spaces.

Utilizing Voids to Enhance the Visual Experience

Designing the entrance hall as a central varnished element emphasizes the importance of surrounding voids, highlighting adjacent living areas and providing a natural backdrop for the family’s daily activities. Employing space in this manner enhances the visual perception of the design and creates a dynamic sense of the environment, rather than a feeling of separate, enclosed areas.

Integration Between Interior and Exterior

The garden is not merely an aesthetic space; it becomes a pivotal element influencing the use of interior areas. Through continuous integration between indoors and outdoors, the distinction between them becomes blurred, enhancing interaction with the natural environment and creating a smoother, more open living experience. This strategy demonstrates how architectural design can redefine the relationship between humans and the built and natural surroundings.

Using Traditional Materials in Interior Design

The selection of materials plays a pivotal role in connecting interior design with the cultural and natural identity of the space. In this context, traditional handcrafted varnish, produced in specific villages, was employed, featuring unique artistic qualities such as engravings that mimic raindrops. More details can be found in our Building Materials section.

Blending Tradition with Modernity

Carefully crafted engravings serve not only as aesthetic elements but also harmoniously integrate with the surrounding environment, reflecting the garden and creating a cohesive, intimate atmosphere. By studying traditional materials and repurposing them in a contemporary manner, architects can create an interior environment that preserves the traditional spirit of the place while meeting modern comfort and functional requirements.

Enhancing the User’s Sensory Experience

Using handcrafted varnish enhances the sensory experience of the home, as the eye interacts with the fine details of the engravings and the tactile quality of the surface. This fusion of traditional aesthetics with contemporary functionality demonstrates how heritage materials can contribute to visually and sensorially rich living spaces, strengthening the sense of belonging to the place.

Drawing Inspiration from Nature in Façade Design

Nature plays an important role in architectural façade design, where organic forms and flowing lines can add both aesthetic and functional dimensions to a building. For example, the design can be inspired by raindrops on leaves or the movements of snails feeding on tender branches, creating interwoven shapes that harmonize with the natural surroundings.

Environmental Benefits of Organic Forms

Organic structures help reduce a building’s exposure to direct sunlight, contributing to cooling transitional spaces and improving indoor thermal comfort. This combination of aesthetics and practical functionality demonstrates how nature-inspired design can enhance a home’s environmental performance.

Integration of Art and Contemporary Life

Incorporating artistic elements such as paintings and traditional pottery strengthens the connection between heritage and daily life. By blending local traditional varnish art with contemporary spaces, architects can create a visually and sensorially rich environment that reflects local heritage and enriches the living experience, achieving a balanced interplay between beauty and function.

✦ ArchUp Editorial Insight

It can be observed that the Bong House project offers some promising solutions, such as integrating traditional materials with contemporary design and utilizing open spaces to enhance fluidity between interior and exterior areas. These elements may provide a comprehensive sensory and aesthetic experience for the occupants.

However, certain aspects may require deeper consideration when applying this approach to other projects. For instance, the complexity of multi-level open spaces and the overlap between indoor and outdoor areas may pose challenges for daily practical use, particularly in smaller homes or those accommodating a larger number of residents. Additionally, heavy reliance on traditional materials in finishes may require ongoing maintenance and could limit flexibility for future updates.

From a broader architectural perspective, the project provides an opportunity to rethink the relationship between natural elements and built structures, while also raising questions about the sustainability of certain design choices in different contexts. This project can serve as a case study for learning how to integrate heritage with modern functionality, while taking into account practical challenges and the costs associated with maintenance and implementation.