Chic eco haven in Bangsar

The art of keeping it simple is very much alive in glorious Bangsar. Sekeping Tenggiri, a minimalist haven, is tucked in the serene residential lane of Jalan Tenggiri, off Jalan Tandok. It rests on a steep slope, and takes the high road to eco cool.

Sekeping Tenggiri is a passion play by Ng Sek San, a landscape architect cum ardent art collector. The place used to be two houses, numbers 46 and 48. What began as a location to store his art pieces, soon became part warehouse gallery, part retreat for guests.


Raw beauty
Sekeping Tenggiri goes back to basics - way back. Think villages (kampung) or squatter houses, but with some basic facilities and amenities such as television and DVD players in the rooms, and fridge, microwave oven, washing machine, ASTRO channels and WiFi for common use. The walls are intentionally unpainted and previous scribbling on some walls are left untouched. All the doors and some timber exceeding 50 years old were scoured from old Malay kampung houses and are reused in Sekeping Tenggiri.

Bricks are plastered together in its raw state and beds are laid on top of a mesh of sturdy wires. This same mesh was also creatively shaped as stools and sofas (adorned with Acalypha siemsis hedges). Some adjustable louvre windows in the rooms are inserted with thin slabs of sand boards, instead of glass. This was done to regulate the amount of light into the rooms.

The common area also features some pleasant surprises. For example, a basket suspended in mid-air acts as a laundry basket that can be hauled up to the upper floor via a pulley. Very reminiscent of days when the ’pakcik’ (uncle) or ’makcik’ (auntie) in the local sundry shop pulls down a mini basket hanging above his or her head and places monies received into it, and aloft goes the mini basket when it is released.

There is a warm glow that comforts guests at Sekeping Tenggiri. It is naturally ventilated and yet sheltered from the elements. A flying canopy of green leaves is courtesy of a tree that has accompanied the previous structure. The balcony for one of the rooms has this same tree passing through it, lending a tree house appeal to it.

Basic yet cosy rooms.
One of things that will make your head tilt upwards slightly is three visually-commanding lights. Each features recycled material that the eco-warrior and arty soul might phrase it as sexy. Yakult plastic bottles, cat food tin cans, oranges trays and Tetra Pak cartons are assembled to fashionably fabulous effect.

Natural selection
Sek San’s profession is very much rooted in nature and fittingly, Sekeping Tenggiri’s stripped-down approach might grow on you, even if you are a hardened city slicker. Through sheer talent and determination, and degrees of it, Sek San has pieced together a place with an understated elegance. Well, it is in Bangsar after all - where almost everything seems grander and trendy, in sight or in mind.

Even Mowgli and Baloo, two characters from Rudyard Kipling’s tale, “The Jungle Book“, probably feel right at home basking in the bare necessities of Sekeping Tenggiri, or in the greens of Sekeping Serendah, another retreat orchestrated by Sek San.

By Sherry Koh Mar 10, 2010
Photographs are courtesy of Seksan Design (except for close up images of lamps, wall scribbling and laundry basket).

Source: http://www.starproperty.my/PropertyGuide/Living/2852/0/0