The area is known as an elite residential complex with luxurious entertainment venues sitting at the coastline. Despite the property’s valuable quality of having a direct private access to the sea, it also encounters design challenges from sea level rising, land subsidence and city sewer’s occasional overcapacity. By developing efficient water management systems and elevating house above the ground, we integrated solutions to prevent flooding for years to come.

Jakarta is experiencing land sinking by an average of 1 to 15cm per year, where half of the city now is almost sitting below the sea level. Pantai Mutiara complex has been continuously imposing new regulations to mitigate the situation where residential houses at private properties have to be built at higher ground level, and seawalls to be raised higher.

In efforts to ease the risk of flooding, we deployed 4 main strategies for the residence. The first effort is retaining the current ground level of the house by locking concrete foundations to counter land subsidence. In complement, we deploy the second effort by planning a progressive building of dyke walls at the rear side of the house. These couple efforts are made to impede the impacts of global warming and continuous ground excavation.

The third effort is by elevating the ground level. We classified the hierarchy of the programs through elevation levels as they are associated with flood risk; service and parking areas positioned at the ground level, and living areas positioned above. The fourth effort is by installing water retention basin that stores and designates overflow rainwater to be re-circulated back throughout the building for watering plants and toilet flushing. When the water stored exceeds its capacity, the water will be pumped out to the canal on the rear side of the house.

Furthermore, we use low-energy artificial lightings, a solar water heater and saltwater pools rather than chlorine in effort for a sustainable energy performance. The entirety of the house is elevated with sole core in the middle providing vertical access to living space above. The house hovers over a sculptural garden consisting tropical vegetation and dry garden area that is used for playground of the owner’s pet.