House at Kohuwala

Residential Architecture · Kohuwala, Sri Lanka

The brief

A three-storey house on a tight 19-perch site in Kohuwala. The plot was narrow and overlooked on three sides, so the brief became how to bring in light and air without giving away privacy.

House at Kohuwala at dusk, three storeys of balconies and timber screens rising above the side garden

Project overview

Location
Kohuwala, Sri Lanka
Type
Residential Architecture
Completed
2023
Architect
Design Republic
Area
458 m²
Services
Architecture, Interior Design
Breakfast counter with leather stools in the white kitchen
Three chrome teardrop pendants over the kitchen counter
Kitchen and breakfast counter, with glazed timber doors open to the garden
Breakfast table seen through a timber-framed sliding door

Design response

We worked vertically. The ground floor opens fully to a front garden and a narrow indoor courtyard that runs to the dining; double-height volumes pull light deep into the plan. The first floor holds three bedrooms and a study, each turned to the garden. A small gym and bedroom sit on the third level, almost hidden.

A few narrow courtyards and a strip of garden around the perimeter keep the connection to the outside continuous. The geometry is simple and the lines are straight, which suited the urban context and the client, in equal measure.

Front lawn with stepping stones, the white house and its timber balconies behind
Perforated grey metal gate in the concrete boundary wall
Grey armchairs around a round timber coffee table in the living room
Timber console with flowers in front of the living room sofa

Materials

The interior is deliberately spare. White walls, clean joinery, a timber stair and handrail that does most of the warmth. The owners brought their own art and the rooms made space for it.

Timber dining table and chairs beside tall louvred timber shutters
Cluster of glass globe pendants hanging in a double-height void
From the timber stair across the dining area to the open kitchen
Dining area under glass pendants, with the slatted timber stair wall and the kitchen beyond
Kitchen worktop with a gas hob and white and timber cabinets
Timber stair with a glass balustrade beside a wall of vertical timber slats
Timber treads and glass balustrade under a timber-lined ceiling
Timber stair lit by a strip light, beside vertical timber slats
Looking up through the double-height void to the timber-lined ceiling
Stair landing wrapped in vertical timber slats with concealed lighting
Upstairs landing with a timber sideboard, looking through to a bedroom
Family room with beige sofas under a timber-lined ceiling and a ceiling fan
Bedroom with a stone-clad wall behind the bed and a black-and-white painting
Looking down into the narrow indoor courtyard and its tree from the upper floor
Looking down over the timber floor and balustrade to the kitchen below
Looking down the stair void to the narrow water court on the ground floor
Upstairs sitting room with a grey sofa below a window with timber blinds
Grey corner sofa and television wall in the upstairs family room
Copper-toned television cabinet under the pitched timber ceiling of the top floor
Grey horizontal slats along the stair beside a vase of orchids
Vertical timber slats and a textured timber-block wall behind a potted plant
Bathroom with a white basin on a black granite counter and a glass shower
Glass balustrade and timber slats along the stair under the pitched ceiling
Top-floor landing with a timber floor, a patterned rug and white balustrades
Study desk beside a timber door and timber blinds
The grey boundary wall and gate lit at dusk, seen from the lane
Grey gate and wall with slots of light, at dusk
The house at dusk from the garden, with its white verandah and timber-railed balcony
Rocket-ship sketches on a child’s bedroom wall
Child’s bedroom with rocket-ship wallpaper and shelves of toys
Board-marked concrete gate pillar with an entryphone
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