Architects: Choo Gim Wah Architect
Area: 4,466 m²
Year: 2025
Photography: Lawrence Choo, Pixelaw Photography
Lead Architects: Choo Gim Wah
Technical Team: Ariel Tung Chee Quan
Interior Design (Wet Kitchen): Studio Bikin
Interior Design (Office Studio, Study Room, Master Walk-In Closet & Master Bathroom): Genre Associates
Engineering & Consulting > Civil: Ng & Ng Consult
General Construction: PSR Construction Sdn Bhd
City: Bentong
Country: Malaysia
The Rainforest Residence residential project, designed by Choo Gim Wah Architect in the forested enclave of Janda Baik, Malaysia, has redefined how off-form concrete interacts with its tropical context and site topography. The house integrates monolithic concrete architecture with open-air circulation, creating a spatial dialogue between art, nature, and habitation. Completed as a private retreat for an artist’s family, the structure navigates a sloped terrain with a rectilinear volume that balances between grounded permanence and suspended lightness. Transitional outdoor spaces offer direct engagement with the surrounding rainforest, while architectural details such as a Pantheon-inspired oculus, full-height glazing, and a sweeping, undulating roof frame natural light and views. The absence of windows on the main facade—crafted to serve as a backdrop for artwork—reveals a deep integration of art display into the architectural language. Over time, the concrete structure softens, merging with moss and vegetation, highlighting a long-term reciprocity between natural environment and architectural materiality.
The Rainforest Residence is situated within the coveted Tanarimba enclave in Janda Baik, Pahang, Malaysia. Designed as a private retreat for an artist family, the house emerges as a rectilinear volume that appears both grounded and suspended along the forested slope. The architect’s extensive experience with hillside dwellings informed a nuanced response to the site’s challenging yet forgiving terrain. The project’s innovation lies in its approach to circulation—not through enclosed corridors, but via open-air transitions that enable direct engagement with the rainforest surroundings.
Off-form concrete, long considered architecture’s most versatile material, finds renewed expression here. In Malaysia’s tropical climate, the material sheds its Brutalist associations and instead balances structural permanence with environmental permeability. The residence’s monolithic presence conceals an intricate play of texture, light, and spatial sequencing. The concrete shell serves as both a protective envelope and a curatorial canvas, setting up a dynamic tension between solid form and the forest’s filtered light—an evolving backdrop for the display of artworks.
A sweeping roof spans the entry foyer, its undulating brick form framing the forest as a living tableau. A Pantheon-inspired oculus directs light onto a floating staircase that descends to the private quarters. The upper level houses living, dining, and kitchen spaces, extending outward toward the tree canopy.
These spaces blur the line between inside and outside through full-height glazing and sliding doors that open to a generous balcony. This transitional space functions both as a gathering terrace and as a lookout over the rainforest. Natural ventilation, aided by the elevated position and an insulated concrete roof, enables passive cooling throughout the day.
Beyond the oculus, the roof and walls merge into a singular plane—an intentional architectural gesture. “Artists need walls to display their works. That’s why the main façade remains windowless,” stated architect Choo Gim Wah. This design choice is underscored by the prominent display of two charcoal works on the expansive front wall.
Art and domestic life coexist seamlessly in the Rainforest Residence. Over time, the interior has evolved into a living archive, populated by paintings, masks, sculptures, books, and even ancient weaponry, reflecting a life immersed in creative practice. The lower level houses secluded areas like an artist’s studio and a home office. These spaces, bathed in dappled light and surrounded by greenery, remain visually and spatially connected to the forest.
Time is already softening the structure’s edges. Moss has begun to trace the concrete surfaces, and creeping vegetation continues to weave into the architecture. This gradual integration with the landscape encapsulates the project’s spirit—a house that not only inhabits the rainforest but is slowly claimed by it, celebrating the intersection of nature, design, and family life.
Project Gallery
Project Location
Address: Bentong, Malaysia
The location specified is intended for general reference and may denote a city or country, but it does not identify a precise address.
