Dual House

Studio Periphery

• Architects

Dual House is a 2-in-1 multi-generational home for a retired couple and their daughter’s family, with 2 separate quarters within a single dwelling.

While the family had stayed in the same plot years ago, they moved out when their children studied abroad. The original house was then leased out to a childcare for several years, before the owners decided to re-occupy the plot – with the intent of enjoying the retirement home in their golden years while providing more space for their daughter’s young family.

photo_credit Studio Periphery — Studio Periphery

Located on a corner plot, the original bungalow was re-built to cater better to current needs. The initial planning involved relocating the entrance from the lower corner of the plot to the upper corner, allowing the garden to now be maximized across the frontage.

Capitalizing on the hilltop topography to create a split level, the home is segmented into two wings with the parents’ quarters in one wing and the daughter’s family in the other. The stair core and courtyard tie the two wings together and enhance cross ventilation across each wing. The basement is also ventilated via the central courtyard.

Communal spaces occupy the porous ground level. Careful attention was given to gradually tier the platforms to minimize the impact between the upper and lower levels.

The living quarters in the storey above is accessed via a doorway to each wing from the stair core, and such that you could shut off the wing entirely from the rest of the house. Each wing contains a master, a lounge and 2 ancillary rooms. Externally, these quarters are sheltered all round by a verandah, with perforated brick and aluminium screens that respond to the sun angles – being more porous along the northern face and less perforated along the eastern and western face. Internally, the quarters face the central courtyard where bay windows are strategically places to provide interaction across the split levels.

The Attic houses spare bedroom on one wing and a sheltered roof terrace on the other wing, providing ample space for family activities.

Elements were borrowed from the quaint old house to provide a sense of familiarity, particularly the brick screens inspired by the distinct faced brick façade of the old house, herringbone timber flooring, and geometric steel balustrades.

For the family, this home-coming is a bridge between the past, present and future - allowing the owners to re-live the simple life they had been used to, while catering to the contemporary lifestyle of the new generation, and allowing the family to continue growing together.