EUGENIA 1-SERENE HEIGHTS

ARCHITECT : STA Architects Sdn Bhd
CLIENT : Symphony Hills Sdn Bhd (UEM Sunrise Berhad)
CONTRACTOR : Kitacon Sdn Bhd
Innovative planning represents an imaginative solution in the general site arrangement of landed housing. Due consideration for the ability and preplanning for future expansion of the units is commendable.

Serene Heights is a township built on 448 acres of freehold land by UEM Sunrise Bhd.Located in Bangi, the growth of this township is envisaged from the spillover of economic, commercial and employment opportunities stemming from the already matured community in Bangi Town Centre.This township is a satellite community designed with a 25-acre parkland in its heart.

Eugenia 1 is part of Phase 1, Parcel 7 of this township and design commenced in 2019.There was great emphasis on an open plan layout for the ground floor of its unit layout plan.Upon entry through the front doors, one could see right across and deep into the kitchen and to the back of the house.There is no separation of wet and dry kitchens, which leaves the planning entirely in the hands of the purchasers.The guest bedroom on the ground floor is part of the multi-generational living option that we wanted to promote, which would be useful when aged parents come to live in this house.Upstairs is a conventional terrace-house layout with three bedrooms with a shared family room in the middle.

Mix of types showing the end lot bridge units
Referencing traditional terraced house façades, we were intrigued by the prospect of illusion, of how we could make the houses appear larger or bigger than they were, to tap into the consumer psyche of “Bigger is Better”.

What sets Eugenia 1 from the rest are two things:
1. The variety of units – 2 main unit types: Standard and Double Frontage Units with 17 different plan variations
2. The Modernist façade

Island view for cul-de-sac units
VARIATIONS IN FLOOR PLAN AND THE TERRACED SEMI-D CONCEPT
We convinced the clients that a generic floor plan would not do justice to the unique placement of some units, as some lots were facing the lake; and for these units, we designed a floor plan that flipped the configuration of the first-floor plan.These units now had the Master Bedroom facing the rear and towards the lake.We also had what we called “Odd Units” born out of the end-lot configuration of the Masterplan.These units had a bridge branching out from the main house and connected to the neighbouring lot, labelled as Extended Family Areas in the plan.It was interesting how we managed to circumnavigate setback requirements of what was a semi-D unit by having these bridge connections – all that extra space but none of the semi-D setback requirements.This allowed the Masterplan to retain its original density of units while allowing the Clients the opportunity to market “Semi-D” units within a Link-House layout.
Drone view of overall site
THE MODERNIST FAÇADE AND MAPPING THE NEGATIVE SPACES
Referencing traditional terraced house façades, we were intrigued by the prospect of illusion, of how we could make the houses appear larger or bigger than they were, to tap into the consumer psyche of “Bigger is Better”.We proceeded to look at the space that was not used up in the conventional façade and we realized that the space above the car porch was a suitable candidate for experimentation.We called this “negative space” and proceeded to map this area to create an illusion of space – by defining its outline using physical elements.Hence, if you look at our façade design, we created these “boxes” of steel columns to capture the large overhang roofs, enveloping the mapped negative spaces.This inadvertently resulted in a clean, modernist façade of strong lines creating a rhythm of volumes that brought bold expression to the terraced streetscape; not to mention it made the houses appear bigger than normal.
Expressed building elements in line with modernist aspirations
There was great emphasis on an open plan layout for the ground floor of its unit layout plan.Upon entry through the front doors, one could see right across and deep into the kitchen and to the back of the house.
Typical streetscape view
Steel frames envelope the expressed negative space and making it look bigger
Streetscape facing begonia residential phase

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