The designer of this project believes that the key to achieving a comfortable living space is to keep things simple. His clear-minded approach to transforming the dated and inefficient interiors of this 27-year-old three-storey intermediate terrace home in the east of Singapore is evident. The once dark and claustrophobic walled-in spaces on the ground level have been replaced by a series of open plan zones dressed in a controlled colour scheme that takes advantage of the existing height and depth of the space. The bedrooms have also been reconfigured into spacious modern domains structured to suit the occupant’s aesthetic taste while keeping to a consistent design language.
The family, a mother with three young adult sons, was open to design ideas but had a list of functional requirements for the designer to fulfil. The list included common spaces to entertain up to 18 people, a wet and dry kitchen, a room for the mother’s parents (who stay over occasionally), and a room for a helper, all on the ground floor. The homeowner also requested a master bedroom with en-suite bathroom on the second floor, and three equally large bedrooms for each of her sons. The original layout of the house featured a small guest room on the ground floor, two small bedrooms on the second floor, and a master bedroom and another small bedroom on the top level.
After removing the compartmentalised spaces on the ground floor, the designer devised a series of open zones starting with the living space at the front, the dining area, and the dry kitchen, in that order. Following that is a compact nucleus named the Core, which consists of the parent’s room, common bathroom, helper’s room, and laundry area meticulously planned to house multiple functions neatly and efficiently in a small footprint. The Core is anchored by the parent’s bedroom, with the common bathroom on its right and a passageway on the left.
Though the use of space-saving sliding doors, both spaces can be closed for privacy or opened for access creating a convenient loop around the ground level with no dead ends. The helper’s room is situated adjacent to the parent’s room and the laundry area tucked neatly at the side of the common bathroom. The extra space needed for the Core was created by extending the back of the house into the former lawn area and replacing the original fence with high brick walls. With fewer physical barriers, light and air now flow easily into the heart of the home from both the front and back of the house.
The original entranceway of the home was also modified to encourage more light to enter. A non-load bearing column was removed from the original entrance to create one big doorway closed up by new floor to ceiling bi-folding clear glass doors framed in aluminum. When the doors are fully open and pushed to the side, you get a full unobstructed view of the living space and dry kitchen from the front, showcasing the precise design details and visual impact of the minimalist space.
The chosen colours were crucial to improving the lifestyle of the family by providing them with modern spaces they could enjoy. Microcement and lime plaster finish were predominantly used on the floor and walls of the home in custom colours that echo natural pottery pigments, and their organic hand-applied textures soften the sharp clean profiles of the design. In the living area, an assembly of low platforms serve as steps, seats and table surfaces with the grey of the cast concrete structures complemented by painted walls, microcement flooring, and custom upholstery in the same tone for a calm and cohesive look. Unobtrusive and versatile, these platforms also visually bridge the transition between the living and dining areas, and are great for entertaining large numbers of people.
Conscious of his client’s budget, the designer kept and incorporated the original teak staircase, previously seen as a jarring outdated element, into his design concept. He removed the balustrade and modified the shape of the existing staircase landing to make it appear lighter and sculptural. He also referenced the classic round knob of the wood turned post in the spherical lamps of the living and dining area and throughout the home. To fulfil his client’s wish of a large master bedroom with ensuite bathroom on the second floor, he extended the footprint of the floor with a concrete slab that cuts across the once 6.5metre-high double volume ceiling of the living area below.
The exposed concrete beams of the room were kept to preserve its ceiling height . To make good the uneven colouration of the ceiling and beams without losing their material texture, a specially-sourced translucent coating was applied on them. A bedhead cum partition wall in lime plaster the colour of red clay is all that separates the bedroom from the bathroom with the wet areas on the other side of the partition. Light enters this narrow space through the rows of glass blocks above the washbasin, from the other side of the wall which is the stairwell. This is unusual in Asian homes where bedrooms and bathrooms are usually closed off from each other – but it is practical and sustainable here thanks to the generous sizes of the newly configured bedrooms.
The sufficient light and ventilation enabled the reduction of physical barriers so new ways of designing spaces and living can emerge. With more transparency, much care was taken in choosing the home’s light fixtures, switches and bathroom fixtures, some of which were specially imported. To achieve large bedrooms for all three sons, the designer combined the two existing smaller bedrooms on the second floor into one, and on the third floor, he extended the existing bedroom (and roof) at the back of the house. Guided by a clear architectural vision, he used different designs, materials and colours to give each room a unique identity.
