Fillet House: A Masterpiece of Rounded Corners

Architect Kee Yen Lim's Award-Winning Design Maximizes Corner Lot Potential

The Fillet House was inspired by the designer's desire to soften the cubic mass typically allowed in building structures. By rounding the four main corners of the house, Kee Yen Lim achieved a sense of wholeness and streamlined the building's form. The building's mass was then configured to respond to the tropical climate, designated programmes, and the neighbourhood, with subtracted volumes for open terraces and voids.

What sets the Fillet House apart is its maximization of the corner lot building plinth using rounded corners or edges. The staggered, filleted mass of the building, viewed from the street level, is elevated vigorously from its surroundings. The combination of white, black, and grey curved solid planes, touches of timber, and the transparency of glass, creates a manly form that stands out within its neighbourhood.

The Fillet House was realized through a mix of technology and craftsmanship. The metal railing that wraps the concrete spiral staircase is a continuation of the filleted corners. The metal plate was laser-cut in a factory and welded on-site to form and craft the curvatures. The solidness of the spiral form is isolated with random vertical metal plate rails, adding another layering effect to the interior. This sculpted spiral stair, with a backdrop of large glazing, invites the green scenes from outside to inside, filling the volume with poetic shadows, especially in the morning.

The Fillet House, sized at 1,100 square meters, started in 2018 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and was completed in December 2020. The design process involved subtracting masses from the original structure to create openness, allowing for daylight penetration and cross ventilation. Natural light enters the house across all levels, from open terraces and the master lounge at the second floor level to the living hall at the ground floor level through a tempered laminated glass floor and void openings at the first-floor level next to the dance hall.

Despite challenges such as the northeast-facing high volume air well with a large glass panel and the southwest-facing front façade with horizontal sun shading devices, the Fillet House was successfully completed. The recessed space at the front of the house serves as a garage and can be converted into a veranda for family activities. The sliding timber screen not only acts as a sun shading screen but also provides security and privacy to the occupants, adding different layers and screens to enhance the architectural spatial experiences.

The Fillet House was awarded Silver in the A' Architecture, Building and Structure Design Award in 2021. This prestigious accolade is given to top-of-the-line, creative, and professionally remarkable designs that demonstrate outstanding expertise and innovation. The Fillet House, with its strong technical characteristics and splendid artistic skill, showcases a remarkable level of excellence and introduces positive feelings, amazement, and wonder.