MELVYN KANNY- MJ KANNY ARCHITECT

Melvyn Kanny Architect’s award-winning Canopy House celebrates tropical living at its finest.

They say you should never change your mechanic and hairstylist. This should also include your architect, as was the case for the owner of the Canopy House, which merited a commendation in the residential category at the 2019 PAM Awards. Melvyn Kanny of Melvyn Kanny Architect had previously build a smaller house for the client, so when he acquired a piece of land higher up on the hills of in the same neighbourhood, he sought Kanny out.

The site was steep with existing huge rain trees nearly a hundred feet tall, with spread out canopies. This environment set the temperatures a little cooler than the city, so the design priority was to preserve its natural surroundings and take advantage of the cool breezes. In order to preserve the existing slope with minimum cuts, the structure was designed to “perch” upon the ground, or to almost levitate above it. The big shady trees and its canopy gave birth to the idea of a large canopy in which all the habitable spaces would be arranged under its protection, which shields the interiors from the heat whilst still capturing the breeze and views through carefully arranged apertures and openings.