We cut space so the light can get in

Curved concrete ramps and railings seen from below

Founded 2012

A studio of nine architects working from an old printing house in Denpasar.

Houses, schools and quiet public places, drawn by hand before they are drawn by machine.

8°39'S, 115°13'E

A kerf is the thin line a saw leaves behind when it cuts. It is the smallest possible gap, and it decides whether two pieces fit. We think about buildings the same way. Most of our work is in the gaps, the shaded passage, the step down into a courtyard, the slot of sky above a staircase.

Concrete cantilever reaching out against a blue sky

Rumah Tebing

LocationUluwatu, Bali

Year2025

Area420 m²

TypePrivate house

Index

Rumah Tebing

UluwatuHouse2025

Pasar Batu

GianyarMarket2024

Grass House

TabananHouse2024

Stair Gallery

UbudInterior2023

White Library

DenpasarLibrary2023

Pine Street Garage

SanurHouse2022

Curve Clinic

CangguInterior2022

Shadow School

KarangasemSchool2021

Board Room

JakartaInterior2020

Ramp House

BukitHouse2019

Pasar Batu, a market of shade

Client: Gianyar regency
Program: Morning market, 140 stalls
Built: 2024

Brutalist courtyard with stacked concrete blocks — The courtyard01 of 05

Concrete stairs and walls in soft light — Stair to the roof02 of 05

Note

Vendors told us they lose a third of their produce to the midday sun. So the roof is thick, the walls are pierced, and air moves through the building all day.

Narrow concrete corridor with sharp shadows — Cool passage03 of 05

Close up of board marked concrete — Board marked walls04 of 05

White model of the market with arched openings — The first model05 of 05

Section A, drawn as you scroll

Rumah Tebing sits on the edge of a limestone cliff. Keep scrolling and the house builds itself, the way we first drew it on tracing paper.

GroundSlabsWallsRoofOpeningsLifeMeasureSun

Four steps, no shortcuts

Every project moves through the same four rooms of our studio. Hover a step to see what it looks like on our tables.

Listen

Site model with small trees on a black stand

Two days on the site with the people who will use it. We measure the shade, the wind and the walk from the road.

Draw

Sections first, plans second. A section shows how light and air move, which is most of what a building does.

Model

Paper and card models at every scale, photographed in real sunlight on the roof of the studio.

Build

White block model with arched openings on black

We stay on site every week until the last tile is laid, and we visit again after the first rainy season.

Board marked concrete wall in soft daylight

Honest

surfaces

The grain of the timber stays in the concrete

We cast walls against rough boards so the wood leaves its fingerprint behind. Nothing is painted that does not need paint.

38Buildings finished

14Years of practice

9People in the studio

212Models built last year

Have a site in mind

studio@kerf.example