The landscaped plinth is an idea derived from the vernacular malaysian kampung house. Traditionally, these houses were made of timber, held off the ground plane by timber columns and incorporated timber, stone or masonry steps up to a simple entrance verandah. A clean gabled roof capped the generally rectangular structure and the only element which came back down to ground were the walls of the bath structure. The lifted house protected against flood waters and allowed for cooling and drying winds below: a study of cross ventilated elegance.
Customarily, the space beneath has been used as a store or a car parking space.
The landscaped plinth proposes its use as an unbounded living area, a garden room to the edge of its boundary or property walls and an entertainment plinth.
Though its derivation is traditional, its experiential qualities can be configured and adjusted to different variations and applications, important criteria in a world today so defined by transition and change.
It works in urban, suburban and rural situations.
It makes for the privacy of a courtyard garden.
It maximizes perceptual space.
And cross ventilates with the grace of a malaysian kampung house.