Malaysian award-winning home in Kuching features veiled facade, indoor water feature

The vent blocks are meticulously arranged as a privacy screen that covers nearly all round of the first-floor exterior, strategically to shade the upper dwelling from both the eastern and western sun. Photos: MNSC Architects

If you drive along Lorong Urat Mata 4 in Kuching, Sarawak, there is a two-storey detached house with a unique facade that is hard to miss.

Consisting of rectangular vent blocks meticulously arranged as a screen that covers nearly half of the first floor exterior, this design feature is what makes Urat Mata House stand out.