Located in a quiet neighbourhood in Petaling Jaya, is an extraordinary bungalow that encompasses the simplicity of modern architecture and the use of an anti-oxidant solution to ensure, literally, healthy living.

This is probably the first house in Malaysia to use such an anti-oxidant solution in the building structure and finishing material.

Property owner Melvyn Kanny, 44, is an astute architect with a prudent character who not only designed and constructed his dream home with a green theme but practically, imbued it with life-enhancing properties.

House of longevity Click on thumbnail to view

From the outside, the house stands out uniquely from the suburban dwellings typical of Kampung Tunku. The construction materials used seem to be similar to the old houses around this part of PJ although rendered in a contemporary style.

The gate was constructed out of raw steel with a rusty patina. Other interesting parts of the house include the eye-catching louvres that enhance the façade. The walls too were built with in raw concrete blocks. Visitors could easily be mistaken that the house was still unfinished.

"Oh yes it is finished I assure you," said Melvyn, as if reading my mind.

"The rusted steel is actually oxidized, raw steel - we did it by applying salt to the steel and allowing it to weather, giving it an evenly rusted look. A sealant was applied to preserve it from deterioration."

Before I could ask why not save the trouble by just painting it, he explained that the green concept was based on the maxim of "less is more". Unlike other builders of green houses who adopt an active approach like having photo-voltaic cells, wind turbines, heat pumps, etc., Melvyn's approach to design was more passive.

"I wanted to create a home that was green yet incur minimal, additional costs. People often think of green homes as those that that are run on solar power and so on. However, that is only one part of what green homes are supposed to be."