The Characteristics of Secondary Skin Facade of Contemporary House by Indonesian Architects

Abstract

In Indonesia, tropical climates force architects to elaborate their residential buildings’ design, especially those that need thermal comfort. As one of the thermal comfort strategies for indoor building, secondary skin technology is analyzed to examine various energy savings advantages. The secondary skin then becomes part of the building’s facade, which should blend into the architectural design itself and not become a separate component, unexplained or encoded, thus degrading the building’s architectural quality. Unfortunately, the study related to secondary skin building mostly only discusses the technical aspects. Therefore, it is necessary to study further the characteristics of the secondary skin in its context as a building facade. This paper will examine the secondary skin technology application in contemporary houses designed by several Andra Matin, Budi Pradono, Yu Sing, and Andy Rahman. This study shows that incorporating the secondary skin was quite varied, and they demonstrate a consistent local character display, advanced technology, and reflecting contextual issues. Each architect has its uniqueness in the design approach in using and exploring materials based on the design issues.