Located in Cinere, just outside Indonesia’s capital city of Jakarta, the two-story Flick House stands out with its contemporary brick facade and its focus on sustainability. Jakarta-based DELUTION designed the residence for a family of six who wanted their home to be “humble and warm” rather than large and ostentatious.

The home’s design revolves around five sustainable building concepts: the use of bricks as thermal insulation; the use of local materials to minimize the home’s carbon footprint; a secondary skin as a light mediator; passive cooling provided via cross ventilation and a water feature; and the use of vegetation as an ecosystem generator.

The architects chose brick for the facade not only to provide natural ventilation and protect the interior from the heat of the tropical sun, but also to give the home a warm, welcoming, earthy quality. As an added benefit, brick is commonly used in the vernacular architecture of the client’s hometown in Central Java—so the material sparks happy childhood memories.

The architects also wanted to accommodate the clients’ love of gardening by providing four lush green spaces throughout the home: a main garden, a private garden, a floating garden, and an inner court. These green spaces support the open-plan concept and add to the energy efficiency of the spacious, 3,326-square-foot house.

The major rooms open directly to the outdoor gardens, creating indoor/outdoor spaces and enabling airflow. The addition of a fish pond creates a cooling microclimate—fresh air from the gardens flows into the rooms through the sliding doors and windows.

While the main garden is directly adjacent to the open-plan living space on the lower level, the private garden is accessible only from the master bedroom.

This feature was originally published in dwell.com.