In Singapore, this father built a family home for his three daughters to enjoy
Advertisement
Obsessions
In Singapore, this father built a family unit abode for his three daughters to enjoy
The possessor of this four-storey firm designed it for his three daughters to bond with one another, their friends, and their grandparents, who live next door.
This four-storey dwelling is known as the Void House because of a skylight in the roof. Concealed by draping creepers, the skylight provides a connection to nature, allowing sunlight, natural ventilation and rainwater to cascade into the residence. (Photo: Khoo Guo Jie)
19 December 2022 06:30AM (Updated: 04 Jul 2022 eleven:52PM)
Ten years ago, the owner of this semi-detached business firm brought a plot of land behind his parents' domicile, waiting for the right fourth dimension to develop it. The Singaporean businessman had lived with his family abroad for 15 years for work earlier returning to Singapore about six years ago, as he wanted his three daughters to attend primary schoolhouse here.
"A few years ago, we decided it was time my daughters' needs volition exist pretty stable for the next ten to twenty years. My oldest daughter is in Primary Six this yr; my other daughters are aged x and 6," said the owner. The family unit were living in an apartment nearby and later rebuilding the house, moved in last year.
The owner liked the work of architect Tiah Nan Chyuan, who had designed boutique hotel Lloyds Inn and a shophouse with exposed brick for the The Lorong 24A Shophouse Series in Geylang.
"The most important thing was that when I talked to him, the vibe was better than the other architects I had spoken to then I got him to design the business firm," shared the owner.
He told the director of Farm Architects his brief: Privacy, effulgence and airiness. He as well wanted the domicile to be a place where his daughters could hang out with their friends, especially when they became teenagers.
WATCH> How this Singaporean rebuilt his family home with love for a new generation
The starting time challenge Tiah faced was the plot's unusual shape. "As the semi-detached house is in a cul-de-sac with a very small-scale entrance frontage, all the adjacent houses are only two metres away. With that in mind, we decided to adopt a layered and inward-looking approach with controlled openings to protect the occupants' privacy. We started by creating a solid block and then carved out openings and spaces in relation to the gaps betwixt the neighbours' houses or views toward the garden or sky," said Tiah.
Big engineered timber brise soleil in a warm, copper finish defines the front end facade. They rising upward the second- to attic storeys, revealing little to the street. "The front facade is the only opening where there are opportunities for longer views and current of air to enter the house," highlighted Tiah.
The openness and airiness the owner wanted is experienced in every office of the house. Rather than have a large garden on the first storey that would be nether-utilised, Tiah inserted pockets of mural on every level that lets interiors district with nature in individual. They also amplify natural illumination and breeze into the deep plan.
During our visit, the owner led united states by the living room to a vast deck at the rear facing his parents' house. "Because my house bordered onto my parents' domicile, I thought we could plough [the rear] into a space where they could also access and enjoy," he said.
The serviced spaces were positioned at the street-facing side to gratis up the rear for this purpose. Looking up iv storeys, a skylight in the roof is curtained past draping creepers. During downpours, rainwater falls down similar a waterfall through this gap and straight into the pool.
The family somewhen moved their dining table side by side to the pool. "Nosotros have all our meals here. We spend a lot of our time here. We get a lot of sunlight but it'south sheltered from the pelting," said the owner.
The grandparents sometimes join in. A gap in the boundary wall allows complimentary passing of both households. In the mornings, the grandparents can wave beyond to their grandchildren in their bedrooms when they wake.
The house is well connected vertically, bridging familial bonds from different parts of the domicile. For example, a mezzanine overlooks the living room. 1 side of this level contains two guest rooms, a bath and a small sitting room.
READ> In Singapore, two siblings build a home next door to their parents to foster familial ties
"At that place is a sliding door that when closed, enables this area to become a two-bedroom apartment. My wife is from Japan and sometimes her parents or friends come up over and stay for long periods and then this [layout] gives them privacy," said the owner.
On the other side of the mezzanine, a room is floored with tatami mats. The owner's wife conducts tea ceremonies and kimono-wearing sessions here for her Japanese friends and acquaintances.
"I of my daughters does ballet then sometimes, she turns this into a studio where she can practice," said the owner. It looks out to a Japanese garden floored with loose pebbles.
On the third storey, a voluminous library has shelves reaching the ceiling. The master bedchamber suite is also on this level. It comprises a study fly, master bathroom and terrace with a raised pond that is habitation to a turtle. It had plant its manner into the puddle last year. The facade fins give this garden privacy while sounds of gurgling water create a tranquil atmosphere.
The master bedroom is too joined to another sleeping room that was originally intended for the daughters to slumber together in before they grew older and migrated to their own bedrooms.
"But afterward a week of staying here, they all decided to become upstairs," laughed the possessor. "They come up here once in a while when they are in a camping mood. Other than that it's empty, and so nosotros're thinking of what to do with information technology – perhaps plough information technology into a gym or whisky bar."
The daughters' bedrooms are on the fourth storey. Each features a different layout due to the unique plot shape. A sliding door divides them from the general play surface area on the aforementioned storey so they tin can switch on the air conditioner at night and open up their bedroom doors to brand ane large bedroom space when desired.
"Internally, we tried to go around the odd geometries of the site by identifying a ascendant centrality for each flooring and rotating the plan upwardly, using unlike axis on the dissimilar floors. Inside each floor, the key spaces will follow the main axis while the secondary spaces volition accept upwardly the [leftover] corners. Past stringing all these spaces tighter in a sequence, we made the house feel bigger," explained Tiah on the programmatic planning.
Similarly, he broke the design of the staircase upwardly to brand traversing upward the house daily less daunting and boring. The parts vary in porosity and textile. Solid oak timber planks unify the entire structure. "The solid oak nosing was too rounded, following a detail the owner was familiar with from his parents' house," said Tiah.
Ever the cautious begetter, the owner asked Tiah to construct parapets and handrail heights at 1.2 metres instead of the minimum mandatory peak of one metre "so that fifty-fifty if they run around they won't fall over!" he said.
The staircase doubles as a vertical stack, allowing air to broadcast through the home. The voids and gardens facing different directions on the dissimilar storeys help in this strategy of passive air circulation. It negates the need for excessive air conditioning.
Added Tiah, "The rooms on each flooring tin can be air conditioned without disrupting the internal air volume. The orientation as well helps to catch the prevailing wind throughout the year. The owners commented that they noticed a lot of birds making nests in the business firm since they moved in. It's an old wives' tell-tale sign that the house has a comfy living environment."
"The owners commented that they noticed a lot of birds making nests in the firm since they moved in. It'south an old wives' tell-tale sign that the house has a comfortable living surroundings." – Tiah Nan Chyuan
READ> Firm tour: A home in Singapore, inspired by the gardens of Suzhou
Contempo Searches
Trending Topics
Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/obsessions/singapore-family-home-house-tour-246841
0 Response to "In Singapore, this father built a family home for his three daughters to enjoy"
Enregistrer un commentaire