“A family that eats together stays together.”

A house is often a reflection of the owner’s lifestyles; the strong belief in family togetherness in this household has been conveyed through its design. The heart of this home is the double volume dining area and kitchen which is unconventionally located on the second floor. This important family area remains private to visitors on the first level but is visually linked to all three levels. A visual transparency within the house is achieved without compromising on privacy, a key concept central to the client’s requirements. Although maintaining a strong private facade with the bold gesture of a blank wall to the street front, controlled views of the surrounding landscape and filtered indirect light allows the interior spaces to maintain a bright and airy feel.

Type: New 2-Storey Semi-Detached House
Location: Thomson Ridge
Status: Completed November 2004
Main Contractor: Toh Kum Swee Pte Ltd
Structural Engineer: E3 Consulting Engineers

This is a study into how to make a typical intermediate terrace house bright and expansive. Skylights and screens are used to blur the line between inside and outside, creating a relaxed, almost country feel to the interiors. A new extension at the rear adds a bright and lovely new master bedroom at the 2nd storey and a new guest room with attached bathroom at the ground. A series of openable timber screens allows ventilation yet secures privacy for the master bedroom. In addition, it has a small skylight terrace which overlooks an internal koi pond. From the street, the eye is immediately drawn to a curved aluminium screen which forms the main design element at the front facade. This former balcony has been converted into a new attached bathroom which is shared by the two existing bedrooms.

The kitchen and bathroom was featured in Trends Kitchen and Trends Bathroom magazine.

Type: Additions & Alterations to Existing 2-Storey Intermediate Terrace
Location: Grove Drive
Status: Completed October 2004
Main Contractor: Praxis Contractors Pte Ltd
Structural Engineer: Uni-Associated Consultants

This new corner terrace house is our statement on how to build a simple, totally modern, affordable house in our tropical climate. Sited on a long plot of land, it consists of a simple white rectangular box resting on a series of steel cladded columns. Interestingly, the living and dining spaces are situated at the rear where the view and orientation are much more pleasant. A series of full-height glass sliding doors enclosing this space can be pushed out of sight to make a wonderfully open and relaxed space. At the front, the main entrance has a 2-storey space on one side with the stairs leading to the upstairs bedroom. This is lit from above with a continuous timber pergola which brings in lots of light into a gallery hall.

Type: New Erection of 2-Storey Corner Terrace House
Location: Lorong G Telok Kurau
Status: Completed June 2004
Main Contractor: Harico Contracts & Services
Structural Engineer: Uni-Associated Consultants

At the junction of a busy main road, this corner terrace uses a series of movable screens to shield its 5 rooms away from prying eyes and busy traffic. The additions and alterations add two more levels to an existing 2-storey house as setback constraints did not allow any expansion horizontally. The movable screens are made from external phenolic board cladding and are punctuated with 36 mm circular holes to filter light into the rooms behind. In contrast, the internal spaces are bright and airy. At the entrance, a cantilevered staircase of steel and marble floats over a decorative pond and then flows upwards into a 3-storey stairwell. This and various other spaces are lit by skylights, with perforated ceiling boards to continue the theme of the screens.

Type: Reconstruction of 2-Storey Corner Terrace
Location: Lorong J Telok Kurau
Status: Completed January 2005
Main Contractor: Toh Kum Swee Pte Ltd
Structural Engineer: Uni-Associated Consultants

These 2 bungalows have been built for a pair of siblings—a brother and a sister, each with his and her own family—who have chosen to live adjacent to each other. Entering off a large timber screened car porch, one encounters a secluded central courtyard with a large swimming pool. With this central shared space as the focal point, these two houses look like a mirror image of each other at first glance. Upon a closer look however, one will notice nuances in the designs. The plans and facade for each house were tweaked to suit each family’s needs. The absence of a party wall between these two units, by design, enables both families to share scenic views and maintain direct contact without compromising individual privacy.

 This project was featured in Trends magazine.

Type: 2 New Erections of 3-Storey Detached Dwelling House with Swimming Pool
Location: Lutheran Road
Status: Completed June 2005
Main Contractor: Hock Ming Construction Pte Ltd
Quantity Surveyor: Barton Associates Pte Ltd
Structural Engineer: SB Ng & Associates CE

This semi-detached house on a quiet residential corner faces the hot western afternoon sun. A new overhanging roof structure creates a 2-storey high verandah, which faces the main garden.

From this structure, a motorised aluminium screen hangs, to shelter the house from the heat. The horizontal expression of this screen is carried through to other details in the house such as the entrance gate, which consists of round timber battens held between steel supports. In the master suite, a floor-to-ceiling cabinet is clad with timber battens to give a tropical warmth to the space, whereas in the ground floor powder room, oak timber was used to create a wall-to-ceiling canopy.

Type: Additions & Alterations to Existing 2-Storey Semi-Detached Dwelling House
Location: Namly Drive
Status: Completed February 2004
Main Contractor: Toh Kum Swee Pte Ltd
Structural Engineer: S B Ng & Associates C.E.

A 4-metre high light timber-cladded structure greets the visitor to this 2 1/2 storey semi-detached house. Unusually, the car porch and living and dining spaces form a seamless whole, and they are separated only by a series of sliding glass doors and a vertically slated timber screen. A steel-framed staircase with slated timber treads rises to the 2nd storey, where a bamboo courtyard surprises and brings in light and green into the heart of the bedroom area.

Here the three bedrooms form an inner core and they are interconnected by a high ceiling study area at the perimeter of the house. The master bathroom is completely open to the bedroom and features a timber pergola ceiling with skylights, a sunken bath and shower area and space for potted plants.

The project was featured in Trends magazine and the living room was featured in the monograph Contemporary Asian Living Rooms.

Type: New Erection of 2 Storey Semi-Detached Dwelling House with Attic
Location: Lucky Heights
Status: Completed November 2003
Main Contractor: T & T Technology Contract Services

A bold new extension cantilevers over an 8-metre slope at the back of this corner terrace site. Sheathed in a specially profiled sliding timber screen, it houses the new master bedroom at the 2nd storey. From here, there are fine views of the nature reserve towards the north. The ensuite to the master bedroom is bathed in light from above and is glazed on 3 sides. A sculptural plinth holds the WC and the basin, and the circular shower area completes the ensemble. Below this extension is the new kitchen, which by means of sliding doors, can be turned into an open concept kitchen with an outdoor dining deck.

This project is featured in Contemporary Asian Bedrooms and was selected in Phaidon Atlas of 21st Century World Architecture which features “over 1,000 of the most outstanding works of architecture built since 2000.” You can view the online version here.

Type: Reconstruction to Existing 2-Storey Corner Terrace House
Location: Capricorn Drive
Status: Completed April 2003
Main Contractor: Hon Xin Builder Pte Ltd
Structural Engineer: Uni-Associated Consultants

An infinity pool forms the focus of this large bungalow site set on a sloping ground. This house is built for two families and it has two corresponding wings in an L-shaped plan. From the road level, one wing is expressed as a long horizontal “floating” box hovering above the ground. The other wing, fenestrated with vertical steel fins and floor to floor glazing, completes the enclosure around the pool. A new pavilion with bathing facilities and a pantry forms the third side which is linked to the existing house in an adjoining property. Together these form an ensemble and a large outdoor entertainment area for this extended family property.

Type: New Erection of 2-Storey Detached Dwelling House with Basement & Attic
Location: Nassim Road
Status: Completed November 2003
Main Contractor: Chieng-Chuang Construction Co. Pte Ltd
Quantity Surveyor: KPK Consultancy
Interior Designer: Leo Designers Pte Ltd
Landscape Architect: Sitetectonix Pte Ltd
Structural Engineer: Web Structures
M&E Engineer: Edward E. Woo Consultants Pte Ltd

This new bungalow explores the concept of outdoor living spaces by splitting the main spaces into two buildings and a pavilion. The brief called for two separate areas, one for the parents and one for their son. A steel-framed living pavilion becomes the ‘common’ space for both. The dining room sits below the son’s unit which cantilevers on all four sides from a central core housing the kitchen. Both the living and dining rooms open into a turfed courtyard and form a continuous open space when needed. Two covered linkways interconnect all the spaces on both levels on either side of a wall, below which sits a koi pond.

Type: New Erection of 2-Storey Detached House
Location: Bowmont Gardens
Status: Completed June 1999
Main Contractor: UPA Construction Pte Ltd
Structural Engineer: HCE Engineers Partnership