Ivan Priatman, the principal architect and designer at Ivan Priatman Architecture, also serves as the director of architecture at PT Archimetric, a leading architectural and engineering firm renowned for its innovative public buildings. Earlier in his career, he honed his skills as a junior architect at Altoon Porter Architects in Los Angeles, USA, before bringing his expertise to PT Archimetric. Indonesia Design had the exciting opportunity to explore the RA House, Ivan’s captivating and thoughtful design.
What was the initial brief from the homeowner?
Initially, the homeowners showed me the site in the western area of Surabaya and explained that this would be their permanent home for a family of four. They envisioned the house as a place of retreat and relaxation.
At the beginning, they requested a house in an American Classic style. However, through a series of discussions about architectural direction – and after I shared some of my previous work – they became more open to the idea of a modern approach, which aligns more closely with my architectural background and design philosophy.
How did you interpret it for your design?
When we observe residential neighbourhoods in Indonesia, we often see a multitude of different styles – classic, tropical, Mediterranean, American – which can feel visually noisy and overwhelming, contrary to the client’s vision.
Since this house was intended as a retreat for the family from both the surrounding environment and the fast-paced lifestyle, I approached the design as a deliberate contrast. The idea was to create something minimal, calm, and visually quiet.
This approach led to the white levitating box that becomes the main architectural part of the house. The box is largely solid on the front side (west-facing), with only horizontal strip openings to minimise solar heat gain. In contrast, the rear façade opens generously toward the pool, allowing light, ventilation, and visual continuity.
What inspired you to create the design for this house?
The design was inspired by the idea of blurring architecture and landscape.
The site is located at the far end of a cul-de-sac, making it relatively quiet and removed from the busier parts of the neighbourhood. I observed that the end of the cul-de-sac naturally transitions into an upward-sloping landscape, as the land behind it sits at a higher elevation. Rather than placing the house as an object on the site, the intention was to extend this sloping landscape into the architecture itself.
This resulted in an artificial green plane that becomes the primary ground condition of the house. The landscape effectively conceals much of the ground floor programme, while the main entrance is elevated to the top of this "hill". In this way, the house emerges from the site rather than simply occupying it.
What kind of ambiance does this house present?
The house presents a calm, quiet, and introspective atmosphere. From the street, the house feels muted and restrained, monolithic but light. Inside, the experience shifts dramatically, and the spaces are open, filled with natural light. What appears from the outside as a closed, austere box reveals itself to be anything but once inside. The blurring between architecture and landscape is visible again in the living room, where the interior is fully opened and continuous to the exterior pool area.
There is a consistent spatial contrast between the closed exterior and the open interior, reinforcing the idea of the house as a protected retreat that unfolds inward.
What was the owner’s initial reaction when they first saw your design?
They couldn’t wait to build it.