DESCRIPTION

The Light house is a project that resonated with our ideals of tropical architecture in Singapore. Indeed, with the warm local tropical climate, we believe homes could be made more comfortable and liveable if we could maximise natural light and ventilation into the house. The east-west orientation of this house makes it more critical for good ventilation to prevail.

Due to west-facing front façade, there was also the challenge of preventing the penetration of the harsh western sun into the house. As a reconstruction project, the other challenge was to re-evaluate the internal spaces to cater for the family of four, while retaining the existing structural elements.

In developing the program for the house, the brief would lead us to redesigning the architectural treatment of the overall house from an existing two-storey house to a three-storey contemporary home.

CONCEPT

We crafted the spaces based on a strong theme of giving the main living and dining space ample light and cross-ventilation. As the house was situated on an elongated diamond shaped land, the side elevation allowed a large number of openings. A series of fully-openable sliding glass doors allowed this façade to be fully opened. The front openings are minimal to maintain a level of privacy.

In order to maximize the usage of space for the living area, a TV feature wall cleverly conceals a powder room, as well as creates a children’s games area behind.  A vertical air- well illuminated by a skylight above was designed between the games room and the stairs to bring in natural illumination to both these adjacent spaces.

The kitchen was envisioned to be generous and hence, possible for the dual function of a wet and dry kitchen. A countertop with sliding and folding glass panels allows for a breakfast area and also connects with the dining area.

At the second level, there are two bedrooms that are located facing the front. Hence, we developed a façade that would incorporate low-E glazing as well as a series of slanted vertical fins to act as an effective screen from the western sun.

Leading to the attic level, a new open riser staircase was designed as a central feature of the house. The open-riser timber steps and a glass balustrade is symbolic of the modern reinvention to the house. Due to the western orientation of the house, the master bedroom was instinctively located at the rear of the house. A walk-in wardrobe with a resort-like master bathroom overlooked the bright central air well.

The roof of the attic level features a tilted metal roof that appears lightweight in form and expression. Internally, the family lounge has a unique feel as it features a higher ceiling, with the fixed glazing separating the roof from the aluminum glass doors, making the roof seemingly “float” above the space.

DESCRIPTION

Layer house was a concept that was borne from our client’s needs as a three-generation family living under one roof. The family consisted of grandmother, a couple and three young children. We wanted to create a home that would simultaneously allow everyone to gather comfortably for meals and family times, and retreat to privacy during work or rest times.

CONCEPT

Greeting the car porch is a single cantilevered canopy lined with a warm timber ceiling. A feature wall flanks the front elevation and protects the privacy of the residents within. A spaciously designed living and dining space takes center stage at the first level. Upon entry from the front door, one is instantly greeted by the continuous space that stretches to the dry kitchen near the end of the space. The high ceiling with coved LED lighting accentuates the overall space.

Expanding the space outdoors, a series of large panel sliding glass doors allows the entire living and dining area to be fully opened. In tropical Singapore, good ventilation would be a favorable design feature for large communal spaces.

A single flight of stairs over a water feature takes one to the next level. The water feature was designed with the occupant in mind; serving simultaneously as a seating bench as well. The void above the water feature acts as a connecting tool to strategically connect all levels with the ground level.

At the second level, the granny’s room is situated at the front- in close proximity to the home lift provided. A framed window looks out to the street, with vertical fins that shield the room from western sun as the room has a north-western orientation.

Efficient planning results in a well-distributed layout with four bedrooms at the second level. The two children’s rooms share a generous common bath that is naturally ventilated and opens to greenery. The master bedroom is located at the rear with a proportionately designed bathroom with double basins and a standing bathtub.

The best views would be seen from the attic level. A lounge space with a balcony occupies the front and allows the house another uniting space for the family. A feature bathroom located at this level redefines the shower planting brought indoors and visually-lit by a skylight above. There are two bedrooms at the rear of the attic and both opens to a open terrace.

Architecturally, the layered elevations of the house hide the internal functions with intricate style. Preserving the privacy of the home whilst still allowing sufficient light and ventilation, all the bedrooms have been designed with sufficient openings whilst being shielded by vertical screening.

DESCRIPTION

The Sentosa house was a major addition and alteration works to an existing home for the Owner who lives in Singapore and Indonesia. Located in the prestigious enclave of Cove Drive, the house enjoyed the coveted frontage of the waterside. We collaborated with renown designer Artalenta Indonesia for the interior design of the house.

CONCEPT

The house was designed with the spacious living and dining areas facing the swimming pool, which looked at the water side beyond. Typical of all houses around Cove Drive in Sentosa cove, most of these houses had the luxury of a personal slice of the water at their doorstep. The concept was to create a house that reflected the marine theme of its unique location and context.

A distinctive pitched roof for the second level with the white washed walls completed the new look for the house. The façade was visually enhanced with night lighting that illuminated the features of the façade, pool and surrounding landscaping. The final ambience of the house was styled with a touch of elegance, luxury and pure comfort.

DESCRIPTION

Atrium house was a response to our Client’s brief for a house of modern simplicity and good space. The design of the house was based on the desire to celebrate spaciousness and create meaningful spatial relationships. The central atrium became the anchor for the house, connecting it with all the living spaces from the first to the highest level. The idea of a punctuation echoed to the façade with a patterned perforation that allowed greenery to climb and peek into the interiors of the house.

CONCEPT

The first level presented the living room as a spacious space. A lighted walkway connects the living to the open island kitchen at the back of the house. Our Clients loved these spaces for its openness and the island was a favorite space for breakfast and meals.  The house owners enjoyed art and the walkway presented an opportunity for artwork to be displayed.

The dining room takes center stage at heart of the atrium space, illuminated by a generous skylight above. This space is also where two over-hanging common family areas look over. The stair well next to the atrium connects to this space as well with two glazed boxes that overlook It, adding interest to the atrium.

On the second level, the master bedroom is located at the front, and opens to a well-planted green roof of the car porch canopy. The master bathroom faces the green roof as well, through a subtle planter and perforated wall. The creeping greenery populated the perforated wall creating a refreshing screening for the long bath and shower space. At the attic level, the family area opens to another outdoor terrace. Family and open seating areas at the second and attic level characterize the spaciousness of the design, accentuated by the warm engineered wood floor and illuminated by skylights at the stair well and the atrium.

DESCRIPTION

The existing semi-detached house was a 30-year old house that had stood the test of time. Our clients approached us for a reconstruction of the existing house- with the intention to cater for their family consisting of the couple and their 2 young children.

From the start, our brief was not to maximize the buildable area.  The family appreciated the outdoors and the greenery in front of the house was to be preserved. It was a play area the children would most enjoy on an elevated land a few steps above the car porch.

In rethinking the use of the spaces, we sought to make the indoor spaces functional whilst enhancing them with a connection to the outdoors.

CONCEPTS

The ground floor public areas were “opened up” by demolishing the enclosing walls and enhancing natural light and ventilation with full height glass doors.

A generously spacious timber patio outside of the living room was proposed to allow the living room to extend outside. A textured featured wall continues the dialogue from the inside to the outside and effectively blurs the boundaries.

The result is a living room that is bright and airy.  Stepping up to the dining area, the space for dining is similarly allowed to spill outwards with an extension of a outdoor timber deck – creating a romantic space for after-hours relaxation after a family gathering.

The roof was redesigned to include a series of skylights above the straight flight of stairs to the second level.

A generous family area greets one on the second level where a lush outdoor planter  (which the Owners had a free-hand choosing the plant mix) spans the entire length. The planter is accessible by large sliding aluminum glass doors, and effectively brings in natural light and greenery to the upper level.

The planter also is visible from the common bath to the family area and stretches to peak into the master bathroom.

The master bedroom is located in the front of the house. We designed the balcony space in front of the large bedroom with a more sensitive touch akin to a “sky patio” with a series of sliding timber screens. The Owners were able to adjust their placement in accordance to their preferences for lighting and privacy.

DESCRIPTION

Green Wall House was a response to a request for an abode that would be balanced with nature, enhanced with sustainable strategies and aesthetic in appeal. We worked in close collaboration with our Clients to bring sufficient light and ventilation into the living spaces, with a vertical green wall contributing to a distinct expression for the house. The green wall also made for subtle surprises in the interiors and the result is a modern tropical house well-suited for the family’s lifestyle.

BRIEF

Our Client’s requirements were specific in their response to certain spaces. The living and dining areas were valuable spaces for family bonding and entertaining of close relatives and friends. As such, they had to be spacious, inviting and relaxing.

In terms of comfort and usability, the bedrooms and bathrooms had to be designed with user in mind. We engaged the couple as well as their son and daughter in the expression and designation of these spaces. 

From the orientation of the furniture in the bedrooms to the selections of finishes and sanitary wares and fittings, we catered to the specific and unique tastes of the children, with an interest for individual expression.

CONCEPTS

In designing the spaces for the house, considerable thought was given to making the house feel as naturally-ventilated and well-illuminated as possible. We envisaged a house that would be appreciated by the Owners for its aesthetic, spatial and sustainable characteristics.

The bold insertion of a nine-meter vertical green wall from the second level to the open terrace at the attic level set the tone for the house as one that invited the outdoors into the house.

As a natural element, green walls act as an air filtration system, removing toxins and releasing oxygen to the environment. It also acts as a subtle noise barrier with its lush greenery. 

The green wall faced the bathrooms at the second and third levels. The lushly planted green wall was a refreshing and calming feature wall that greeted the user upon entering the space.

Good natural lighting was also introduced through full height glazing at the living and dining areas.  A skylight at the stair well brings in natural light into the central core area. Bathrooms were all naturally ventilated with the master and junior master bathrooms having the added feature of a green wall facing the shower and long bath.

We engaged with our Clients closely from the planning the spaces for the house to the articulation of the finishes. At the first level, the living and dining spaces provided was generous. A high ceiling for most of the first level gave a sense of spaciousness as large full height sliding glass doors further open out the indoors to the outdoors. Effective cross-ventilation permeated throughout the ground level spaces.

The dining area was a double volume space that engaged with the second level. All bedrooms were designed in close consultation with the users in mind. The scond and third levels were private areas of bedrooms, while the ground and attic levels allowed for more family and entertainment areas. The flow of spaces were aligned with our Client’s desires, with sufficient space for private as well as public areas. The latter include the games area for a pool table that opened out to a open terrace and a sound proof music room at the rear of the attic level.

AWARDS

DESCRIPTION

Nestled in the verdant surrounds of a residential suburban enclave, the site of the Airwell house has a unique unblocked frontage. While it faces west, the house faces the extensive green fields of an international school. The challenge was to limit western solar penetration, while allowing views beyond.

BRIEF

Our clients were a couple who had bought the old single level house as their matrimonial home. The intention was to demolish and rebuild a new house. Typical of intermediate terrace houses in Singapore, the frontage is small compared to the extensive depth of the site at over twenty meters.

Drawing inspiration from the lush greenery in the neighborhood, and the couple’s love for the outdoors, we sought to explore how the light and greenery of the outdoors can be brought to the deep interiors of the house.

CONCEPTS

Most intermediate terrace houses are deep and the first instinct is usually to maximize the floor area. The result is the central part of the house remains dark, with only the front and the rear of house enjoying natural light and ventilation.

Our strategy was to enhance the spaces instead of strictly maximizing it.

A planting strip is introduced at the front of the house to create a visual green separation from the neighbor. A continuous vertical wall spanning 2 and half stories serves as a potential green feature wall. The living room faces this wall at the first level where one can observe the creeping plants climb to the second level where the master bedroom resides.

At the center of the house, between the dining room and the kitchen, is an air well that is open to the sky. This allows ample light and ventilation to enter the kitchen and makes for an inviting place which the couple can indulge in their love for cooking and entertainment.

Above the staircase is a generous skylight and we designed an open riser staircase to further enhance the naturally lighted experience.

The master bedroom faces the front of the facade and we enhanced the outdoor experience with a double volume balcony that spans the entire width of the bedroom.

In order to mitigate the west directed sun from the frontage, a series of sliding vertical screens were designed. The effect is a striking feature for the house without compromising on the user’s comfort and enjoyment of the outdoors.