With both the front and rear facing busy roads, and the side an old house, this house looks inwards. A triple volume covered but naturally ventilated court with a pool becomes the focus of the internal space. On the side, a sculptural staircase cantilevers from the wall to reach the family room on the second level. The journey continues upwards on another staircase with a stepped planter on the side and lit from above. The whole house is finished in off form concrete and grey face brick. The Master bathroom continues this theme, with brick openings that allow ventilation but not views through. This bathroom as well as the attic bath has planting areas that offers a green contrast to the grey scheme. Custom storage units in the living, family and study echo the concrete and brick geometry of the house.

Name: Surprising Seclusion
Type: 2 storey corner terrace house with attic and swimming pool
Location: Binchang Rise, Singapore
Site Area: 298 m2
Gross Floor Area: 360 m2
Status: Completed 2017
Architect: HYLA Architects
Principal Architect: Mr Han Loke Kwang
Assistant Architects: Chong Wen Jin, Thomas Ong
Main Contractor: : Praxis Contractors Pte Ltd
Structural Engineer: GCE Consulting Engineers
Photographer: Derek Swalwell, HYLA Architects

A courtyard on two levels sits in the centre of this semi-detached house. On the first level, a frangipani tree sits in the middle of a pond, framed by a timber-clad box. The double volume living room and the dining room wraps around this courtyard. The second storey level of the courtyard lies over the dining area and in front of the master bedroom. The full height glass façade facing the courtyard is screened by interlocking vertical and horizontal timber members.

The courtyard offers the house a lot of privacy and lets light into the centre of the house. It also acts as a buffer against noise from a major road a distance away.

Type: New Erection of 3 storey semi-detached house with attic & basement
Location: Greenbank Park
Status: Completed September 2014
Main Contractor: Praxis Contractors Pte Ltd
Structural Engineer: GCE Consulting Engineers

This terrace sits at a corner site and thus the full side of the house fronts the side street. To preserve privacy while allowing light and ventilation, a slatted timber screen covers the entire side elevation. At the front, an outdoor terrace with a high volume fronts the main garden. The space continues into the double volume living room with a feature bookshelf that extends two storeys. The first storey has an open plan and large glass sliding doors open up to the lush side garden. One enters the house into the triple volume space with the cantilevered stairs on both sides of the walls.

Type: New Erection of 2 storey corner terrace house with attic
Location: Faber Terrace
Status: Completed June 2014
Main Contractor: V-Tech Construction Pte Ltd
Structural Engineer: Tenwit Consultants Pte Ltd

This three-storey intermediate terrace house has a unique rotating screen on its front elevation. Its cross section has an aerodynamic boomerang shape that serves to deflect wind on one side. On the other side the screen is cladded with timber to give privacy. This allows the occupants to rotate the screen according to their needs. This also gives the façade an ever-changing pattern that corresponds to the mood of its users. Inside the house on the first storey, there is a high ceiling and it creates good cross ventilation into a rear garden court. The staircase has a unique triangular cross section and is well lit with a skylight above.

Type: New Erection of 3 storey intermediate terrace house
Location: Primrose Avenue
Status: Completed June 2014
Main Contractor: Renobest Builder
Structural Engineer: PTS Consultants

This house sits at the end of a semi-circular block of terrace houses, all of which still retain their original design. Taking advantage of the planning guidelines allows the house to gain an additional storey. The front façade is dominated by an intricate timber screen, which on closer look, has a musical pattern of supports and gaps. The side elevation, which faces the afternoon sun, is more solid and is clad with grey granite, which gives it a strong contrast with the warmth of the timber screens. Internally, there is a two-storey void, over which a flying bridge of profiled timber steps appears to hover over. The bathrooms have a rich medley of materials and colours for their different users.

Type: 3 storey semi-detached house with swimming pool and attic
Location: Jervois Road
Status: Completed
Main Contractor: Praxis Contractors Pte Ltd
Structural Engineer: PTS Consultants

A timber-clad façade greets the visitor to this private semi-detached house. The house opens up to the side garden with its timber deck and lap pool. The staircase opens up in the middle of the house and an elliptical skylight brings in light to this space. On the second storey, a curved wall interplays with the timber-slatted corridor, which looks down into the pool below. The third storey has a lounge room which opens to the roof terrace. An open shelf with varying widths and heights reflect the design of the front façade, which also has its timber members reducing in width towards the edges.

Type: New Erection of 3 storey semi-detached house with swimming pool
Location: Eng Kong Gardens
Status: Completed June 2014
Main Contractor: V-Tech Builder LLP
Structural Engineer: S B Ng Pte Ltd

This compact semi-detached house with a swimming pool faces a busy residential road and the challenge is to provide privacy for the occupants. The entire side of the first storey opens out to the swimming pool and deck. The full height glass sliding doors to the living and dining area can be pushed all the way to the back thereby creating an ‘outdoor’ room. The staircase is made with timber treads that are hung on steel rods, giving it a most delicate and light screen which also acts as the balustrade. On the first storey there is a timber screen behind the staircase which gradually becomes more open from one side to the other, hiding the wet kitchen while revealing the dry kitchen. This detail is repeated in the front façade but in the opposite direction to give the master bathroom privacy.

Type: 2-Storey Semi-Detached House with Swimming Pool, Basement and Attic
Location: Greenwood Avenue
Status: Completed
Main Contractor: iBuilders Pte Ltd
Structural Engineer: PTS Consultants
Landscape: Nyee Phoe Landscape

A light well with a reflecting pool divides this intermediate terrace house into two blocks. The light well is covered at the top with a glass and timber trellis, providing shelter from the rain while allowing light and ventilation to pass through the entire house. The staircase runs along the side and underneath it lies a gently-cascading water feature that feeds into the pool. The top of the stairwell is also covered in glass and timber. The timber trellis is hung on steel cables, giving it a gentle camber. The whole house is in off-form concrete and tropical timbers of teak and chengal.

Type: New Erection of 2-Storey Intermediate Terrace House with Attic
Location: Belimbing Avenue
Status: Completed February 2014
Main Contractor: Praxis Contractors Pte Ltd
Structural Engineer: SB Ng & Associates CE

A geometric screen inspired by nature fronts this western facing semi-detached house. Between the screen and the house is a two-storey outdoor covered space with a pond and a timber deck. The living, dining and dry kitchen extend beyond. On the second storey, a family room has a TV-cum-shelf dividing it from the staircase. The master bathroom cantilevers dramatically into the outdoor space with its sunken bath and shower. At the top, the attic bathroom is made with cantilevered elements – shelf, sink, mirror and light.

Type: New Erection of 2-Storey Semi-Detached Dwelling House with Attic
Location: Bowmont Gardens
Status: Completed
Main Contractor: Bison Construction Pte Ltd
Structural Engineer: GNG Consultants Pte Ltd

No. 13 Lorong 24A Geylang is a shophouse conservation and extension project. Two red staircases—both spiral, yet very different in design and effect—dominate the interior. The larger sculptural spiral staircase is placed within a 4-storey light well between the existing conserved building and the new 4-storey extension behind. It sits above a blue reflecting pool and forms the centre piece of the house, spiralling up to the light and roof terrace above. The client likened it to a ‘red dragon’. The other staircase serves the attic level above the main conservation building. It sits above the kitchen area on the 1st storey and is spiral as well but with a rectangular shell.

This project is part of a series of 8 shophouses (together with No. 19) along Lorong 24A which was awarded the Architectural Heritage Awards 2013 by the Urban Redevelopment Authority. It was also featured in Singapore Architect magazine.

Type: Conservation, Additions & Alterations to Existing 2-Storey Intermediate Terrace Dwelling House with Additional Mezzanine Floor and New 4-Storey Rear Extension
Location: 13 Lorong 24A Geylang
Status: Completed January 2013
Main Contractor: M&R Building Maintenance
Structural Engineer: GNG Consultants Pte Ltd