Park + Associates imbues shophouse living into Parq Bella in Joo Chiat
Mention Joo Chiat and one of the first things that comes to mind are the shophouses that line the vibrant enclave. No wonder then that when Park + Associates was tasked to design a condominium located there along Tembeling Road, its response was to take inspiration from the building type. The outcome is Parq Bella, a five-storey, 20-unit boutique development that will appeal to young families with a penchant for all things sophisticated and elegant. Eschewing Corinthian columns, corbels and plaster ornamentation on the façade, the architecture is instead a geometric composition across the first four floors. When it gets to the highest level though, the roofline becomes irregular and undulates from front to back and side to side. In fact, none of it is overtly shophouse-like – but that is the way Lim Koon Park prefers it. The Founder and Principal Architect of Park + Associates, his priority lay in ensuring Parq Bella stands out, but without being too modern or traditional, “That it is in a heritage area rooted in Peranakan-style shophouses influenced us in coming up with…
Mercurio Design Lab interlocks two triangles to form a spacecraft-like bungalow in Mountbatten
“Something cool.” This was the starting point of a creative narrative that concludes with a bungalow in Mountbatten that has elements of the Lamborghini Gallardo supercar, a spacecraft and the Greek letter that symbolises the idea of a wavelength. Disparate as they sound, the reality is anything but, given how it was conceived by Italian boutique practice Mercurio Design Lab. …
Resort-like elements meet Japanese minimalism in this apartment at Kent Ridge Hill Residences by AR-kee Design Studio
AR-kee Design Studio has designed a compact, fourth-floor apartment in Kent Ridge Hill Residences, turning it into a tranquil Zen retreat. The owners – a Singaporean banker and his Japanese air stewardess wife – wanted a home with a modern Japanese look and the atmosphere of a resort. Other than that, their only requests were streamlined storage spaces, a designated…
Wallflower and DS Architects collaborate to design a traffic-stopping condo, Claydence
When developer Hong How Land wrote out the brief for the residential project that would become Claydence, it consisted of one line: when driving at 60km/h along Still Road, the condominium must be noticed. For Wallflower Pte Ltd and DS Architects, which collaborated on the design, they immediately knew that whatever they came up with had to be “striking”, possibly…
A terrace house by Freight Architects in Serangoon Gardens is inspired by shophouses and the Japanese concept of “oku”
It certainly looks like someone parachuted a shophouse into a row of terrace houses in Serangoon Gardens. Even without hearing from the designer, Freight Architects, the architectural language of the residence clearly proclaims its inspiration. While the usual elaborate ornamentation found on them may be missing, the proportions, use of columns, simple pediment and spatial depth are all apparent. “This…
EHKA Studio showcases the concept of spatial porosity in this Primrose Avenue terrace house
When EHKA Studio was engaged to overhaul this three-storey, terrace house on Primrose Avenue in Upper East Coast, the brief given by the client sounded deceptively simple. “They wanted a space that was well-ventilated, bright and spacious,” shares Hsu Hsia Pin, the architect who led the team that took charge of the project. However, those few words encompassed the biggest…
Freight Architects designs a pair of semi-detached houses near MacRitchie Reservoir Park each with a unique theme
They are “cousins”, not twins. This is how Kee Jing Zhi of Freight Architects describes the pair of semi-detached houses he has designed, located within a stone’s throw of MacRitchie Reservoir Park. Naturally, he took inspiration from the location, resulting in one having a garden theme and the other, water. What also binds them together is their linear design language,…
Surbana Jurong Consultants designs HDB project SkyResidence @ Dawson with a distinctive double-S curve
At his National Day Rally Speech in 2007, Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong announced that Dawson, located within Queenstown, itself the oldest public housing estate in Singapore, was to undergo a dramatic makeover fit for the 21st century. He spoke of how “old estates also have great potential” and that with selective redevelopment, the government was able to “clear…
L Architects experiments with bridging a landed house and apartment in this unit in UE Square Residences
In Singapore, ground floor units in residential developments are usually not as sought after as those on higher floors. L Architects, however, saw much potential in this 1,119sqft, level-one condominium unit in UE Square Residences. In doing so, it turned it into an apartment with interiors reminiscent of the inside of a house. The apartment’s owner – a single, 30-something…
Live well at TMW Maxwell by Formwerkz Architects with its stacked sky terraces
In Singapore, rooftop gardens are becoming increasingly commonplace, as are sky gardens inserted into the upper floors of a tall building. So when Formwerkz Architects saw how the brief for TMW Maxwell requested “many sky terraces”, it knew it had to do something noteworthy. Leading the charge was Alan Tay, one of the founding partners of Formwerkz. His solution? To…
ZIVY Architects contains the structural frame of a semi-detached house in Frankel Estate in two slices of concrete
It is a common conundrum in Singapore: owners of semi-detached or terraced houses find themselves with land where the depth is multiple times longer than the width. ZIVY Architects’ latest project, located in Frankel Estate, is an example. Deep and narrow, with a ratio of four to one, the plot ran the risk of accommodating a residence that would mirror…
Hock Hoon plays with light in this unit at Parc Esta condo to accommodate diametrically opposed needs
What happens when the inhabitants of the same home have desires that are diametrically opposed? This was the conundrum for Soh Xin Hui of design studio Hock Hoon, who was engaged to overhaul a four-room condo in Parc Esta meant to house her client, his parents and a helper. “His parents wanted brightness while he feels more comfortable in a…
A terraced tower in a unit in Hillion Residences makes for a brilliant small condo design idea by Metre Architects
OCTOBER SPECIAL | Small apartment interior design series, story 3 of 3 For civic authorities, sociologists, urban planners and architects alike, answering the evergreen question of how much domestic space one needs gained even more currency during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. Entire families were confined for the greater part of the day within the literal four walls of their homes…
At 35sqm, this micro-apartment in 38 I Suites by Studio Wills + Architects is its smallest project yet
OCTOBER SPECIAL | Small apartment interior design series, story 2 of 3 To watch any YouTube episode of Never Too Small, a Melbourne-based collective committed to the small footprint design of apartments, is to realise the ingenuity of the human mind. But it is also how, in the right hands of a sympathetic designer, less is always so much more.…
The Monocot Studio renovates a small apartment in Mackenzie 88 to be multi-functional
OCTOBER SPECIAL | Small apartment interior design series, story 1 of 3 There is something outrageous about paying a high six-figure sum for an apartment and then needing to do an extreme makeover for it. This was the challenging situation the owner of this apartment in Mackenzie 88, near Little India, found himself in. Compounding it was its size of…
Designshop stacks a collection of blocks to create a corner terrace in Watten Estate
When it comes to architecture, the first thing that often springs to mind is aesthetics. Yet, few creatives stop to think about the relationship that the building has with the land it sits on, and how that can drive its design. For this three-storey corner terrace by Designshop, which occupies a triangular plot in Watten Estate, it was absolutely crucial. …
JOW Architects overcomes multiple site constraints to renovate this semi-detached house in River Valley
It is easy to miss HKR House. To reach it, you must first pass the rather distracting Edward Lee Apartments – not for its architecture but because of the supercars often haphazardly parked outside. By the time you finish shaking your head over the blasé attitude of the owners towards their million-dollar vehicles, you would have missed JOW Architects’ latest…
Guz Architects designed a Good Class Bungalow in Holland that has successfully stood the test of time
Good design never dates. Ask any architect and they’ll tell you that while the aphorism is easy enough to understand, it is devilishly difficult to achieve. Yet, to look at Rikki Tikki House, a Good Class Bungalow by Guz Architects, is to behold a design that somehow manages to look fresh, contemporary and, most crucially, completely relevant a full 22…
Could HDB’s Woodleigh Glen in Bidadari represent the future of Singapore’s public housing?
Eight roof gardens, a façade design accented by bright orange fins and a sloping roofline. These are just some features of the newest residential precinct by the Housing and Development Board (HDB), Woodleigh Glen, set within the Bidadari housing estate. Pass by and it could easily be mistaken for a private condominium development when it is in fact public housing. …
Pupil Office renovates a Tiong Bahru HDB flat by taking cues from Australian interior design
Ceremonies to officiate marriages are typically held in hotels or fancy restaurants but for the owners of The Tian Apartment, a five-room Tiong Bahru HDB flat, they decided to do it in their home. The reasons are clear: this is a couple who is incredibly house proud – and they have Amy Lim of Pupil Office to thank. Soothing tones…