This project is situated in a Singaporean landed housing estate surrounded by seemingly disparate activities. Within a 1.5km radius, apart from other housing estates, there is a prison complex, an airport, and several industrial and commercial areas.
With this fairly unusual confluence of building types, we began by questioning what context means to us. More often than not, architecture participates in multiple contexts with layers of complexities. For a new element of architecture to be introduced successfully, there is an absolute need for a holistic consideration of the various contexts involved. For the sake of inclusivity and community conduciveness, our belief lies in that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Examining what it means to respond to site context eventually became the main driver of the scheme.
Together with the client’s brief, the planning of the house was conceived utilising the site’s natural topography and trees at the back of the site. As such, it is apparent that the living spaces in the house turn away from the front where the view is that of neighbouring houses. Instead, it faces the back of the house where the greenery provides a private, green sanctuary.
The site topography was taken advantage of to create a basement nook that opens out to the green. Combined with the outdoor swimming pool, it becomes the focal point of family activities and outdoor entertainment. On the first storey, the planning sought to maximise the porosity through the site, revealing the view towards the greenery at the back.
As one approaches the house through the long driveway, s/he is not confronted with a blank wall or garage that abruptly terminates one’s movement but greeted with a welcoming green expanse. The entrance experience – a particular interest in our studio’s oeuvre – is enhanced.
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