Expandable House | ETH Zürich

Tailored to and learning from the rapidly expanding peri-urban fringes of Asian cities like Batam – the world’s fastest-growing in 2015 – this new sustainable dwelling type is designed to be flexibly configured around its residents’ often precarious resources over time. Its steel-reinforced concrete frame has aerated concrete block cladding at ground and composite bamboo cladding or retractable bamboo screens above. It is based around the following five principles. (1) Sandwich section: the roof can be hoisted to add levels – the foundations can support up to three floors. (2) Domestic density: the house encourages densification at domestic and neighbourhood scales. (3) Decentralised systems: rainwater harvesting, solar panels, septic tanks and passive cooling principles are integrated. (4) Productive landscapes: a vertical kitchen garden and bamboo nursery are included. (5) Seed package: the technology, resource strategies and design guidelines can be developed in different ways depending on local social, cultural and environmental conditions.

Location: Batam Riau Islands, Indonesia
Client: Batam Municipal Planning Authority and community leaders of Kampung Batu Besar neighbourhood
Architect: ETH Zurich / Stephen Cairns with Miya Irawati, Azwan Aziz, Dioguna Putra and Sumiadi Rahman