Geoffrey Bawa may have set the template for Tropical Modernism – the idea of blurring the line between exterior and natural ventilated interior spaces in the context of year-round warm and rainy weather – but the tendency of today’s architects, a generation after his death, is to yield to the diktats of clients who demand vast swathes of heat-conducting glass and the corresponding need for 24/7 air-conditioning. 

Set along a row of semi-detached manses in the Upper Bukit Timah neighbourhood, the House of Hidden Vistas is a valiant iteration of Bawa’s enduring concern for creating spaces that balance shade and light, shelter from the elements and access to the natural elements.

Designed and built by Atelier IF, the 600 sqm home hides behind a deceptive massing of geometrical blocks — two storeys facing the street, and three at the rear – connected by a steeply sloping roof. 

The owners’ brief, says the studio’s founder Fiona Tan, was to have a sense of the outdoors and greenery. This, despite the relatively tight plot, which, nevertheless, required the insertion of four bedrooms, a study and family room. “We achieved this through the introduction of balconies and strategically placed planters and skylights to offer a sense of the outdoors where possible. Internally, we created a series of vistas which allow visual connectivity across the different spaces.”

As Tan explains, the process of designing the home was a collaborative one. The dining room, for instance, originally featured a 3.2m high ceiling, which created a closed-in, compressed space. The decision was made to lift the ceiling to six metres which then allowed Tan and her team to enfold the double volume with a balcony-library nook, and smaller boxed windows to draw in considerably more diffused light, at the same time as they hide most of the looming view of the neighbouring house. 

Tan was also mindful that the house needed plenty of natural cross ventilation to minimise the use of air-conditioning. To that end, she ran shaded balconies along the side elevation where the bedrooms are set with large sliding doors to allow breezes to flow through. On the ground floor are more sliding doors and bifold doors that open to pockets of outdoor gardens and bijoux shaded patios. 

Meanwhile, a generously proportioned perforated staircase, punctuated with the leafy spread of a Pachira tree, that winds its way up the core of the house, arriving finally at a skylight at the top which minimises the need for artificial lighting during the day at the same time as it creates a changing palette of light at different times of the day and even weather.

In another nod to both general maintenance and climatic concerns and how to balance both – especially the effect of wind-driven rain and afternoon sun on building materials – Tan set off-form concrete into strategic locations, typically sheltered by overhangs, to protect it from direct rain.

Tan says the staircase is her favourite feature in the house, not least because it functions as a way to direct views. “It also expands in footprint as it rises to become a sculptural piece that affords both horizontal and vertical visual connectivity,” she says, adding that the leaves of the plants, especially a small tree, cast interesting shadows to the underside of the staircase. 

Far from designing in a vacuum, Tan was particularly mindful of the needs of the closely-knit, multi-generational family and how they would function in the accumulated spaces. There are practical, yet playful, touches as a result, such as a small panel that opens outwards from the principal bedroom into the stairwell which allows the parents both a birds-eye view of the various levels, and an analogue way of communicating with the children and the rest of the household. 

And since the owners already had an extant eclectic collection of antique and contemporary art they had amassed over their years of living abroad, Tan kept the materiality of the house subtle. “I wanted a quiet canvas for the pieces to come together, so we used quite a bit of dark teak tones for the built-in carpentry to match the colours of the furniture.”

Elsewhere, a warm beige tone was picked for the cement screed flooring in the living and dining areas. “Cement screed was an obvious choice for us,” Tan says, “because it eliminates grout lines and provides a seamless, raw finish which complements the furniture.”

If it’s not already clear, this house was a labour of love for both client and architect. For the former, this is the first home they’ve owned in Singapore. For Tan – an alumna of the Bartlett School of Architecture at University College London who apprenticed with Sonny Chan and Zarch Collaboratives – “it was a wonderful experience to design and tailor-make a home with the owners’ collection of furniture at the back of our minds.”

Only established in 2021, Atelier IF is already building something of a name for itself; a steady progress that owes much to Tan’s embrace of quiet design moments. “I have a background in installation art which has provided me with opportunities to explore materials on a smaller scale. With each project, I try to have an element of craft, typically favouring raw, earthy finishes and a more understated aesthetic.”

Very much reflected in this House of Hidden Vistas, we think.