Ground + 3 Residential Apartment Building in Liberia

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Plot Area: 2100 Sq.M.
Location: Liberia
Year: Feb 2021
Scope of Work: Architectural Design

This residence is built on a large plot of 2100 square meters, located next to a beach in a small coastal town in Liberia, where its scenic location allowed the design to take an extroverted approach. The client’s comprehensive set of requirements for the residence gave an opportunity to explore the concept of vertical living, which included an open ground floor to facilitate community events, a separate residential unit to be rented, and spacious residence for personal use.

The tropical climate and the beauty of the context allowed the design to take an extroverted approach, which resulted in a spatial configuration that generously allows the residents to enjoy the surrounding beauty, visually and physically.

The ground floor is designed as an open, flexible, and multifunctional communal space. The spatial arrangement shows influence of modernist architectural principles in combining open plans in residential design.

The first floor houses a rentable residential unit, which can comfortably accommodate a family of 4-5 members. The common spaces are arranged on the South-West direction to optimize the use of daylighting throughout the day, while the private areas are located on the North-East direction, where the residents will be greeted with the dawn’s early light every morning.

The second and third floors house the client’s personal residence. Designed for a large family, this unit boasts of spacious living spaces, along with 4 bedrooms (1 master suite and 3 bedrooms) with attached bathrooms, and multiple recreational spaces. The spatial arrangement is exciting and playful, with its double height living area, and a circular staircase that acts as a center piece. The spatial arrangement follows the same logic as the first unit, allowing both families to reap the same benefits of natural lighting.

The roof terrace which is protected from weather with a unique roof design, provides extended space for the residents to enjoy.

Even though the plan form is essentially rectangular in shape, the arrangement of the internal spaces is playful, with an interrelationship between private and common spaces that encourages healthy interactions between family members. Large glazed fenestration brings in diffused daylighting in abundance, ensuring that all internal spaces are naturally lit throughout the daytime. Furthermore, the layout allows cross ventilation for the common space through these fenestrations, allowing the constant, refreshing breeze from the coast to flow through the house.

The external aesthetic of the design is soft, monochromatic and subdued, allowing it to blend perfectly with its coastal context. The material palette is a fusion of traditional brick and modern plastered concrete, a combination that is stylistically appropriate for the context.

The design establishes a series of large fenestrations, balconies, and garden pockets that gave access to the scenic views that surrounds the residence. The perforated brick facade that embraces the stairwell keeps it naturally ventilated, which highlights the verticality of the 4 storied residence. The addition of a striking roof establishes the design’s stately disposition among other residences in the area.

This house in Liberia demonstrates how architectural design can provide memorable elements and spaces for the residents. Its spatial, material and atmospheric qualities allow the residents to feel warmly welcome at their own home.