7 Singapore architects and design firms integrating the natural environment into their designs

Their ethos of well-crafted spaces that evoke an emotional response can be seen in their recent project—a detached home on Berrima Road with a J-shaped plan and a central courtyard. Khoo and Hsu took the J-shaped plan into a multi-level experiential home.

They relocated the pool from the ground level into the basement courtyard, along with the entertainment room and gym. They then connected the different levels through a large double-volume internal atrium space, which opens outwards towards the water feature wall and the back garden.

A geometric winding staircase seemingly directs the flow of the internal spaces of the home. The clever use of façade screens and large roof eaves creates well-sheltered spaces that allow maximum ventilation and light, making it well-suited for the tropics.

A graduate of Melbourne University, Sher Ming, principal architect and founder of his namesake firm Ming Architects, cut his teeth in a few prominent architectural firms in Singapore, including Woha Architects and SCDA.

“My design ethos is more a system of values than an aesthetic style,” explains Ming. “Nature, sunlight, natural ventilation, spaciousness—these are elements that we introduce into all our houses. We don’t have a fixed style of architecture, but all our projects always comprise the same values.”

Evidence of that can be seen in the Screen House, where the outdoor landscape flows seamlessly into the living spaces of the home. Uninterrupted views of the garden and pool from various levels of the property create visual connectivity.

Ming’s personal favourite is Vale House, another project that follows the same principle of design, amplifying the feeling of living in the tropics. Ming designed the landscape such that it cascades down from the top to the ground floors through planters—“in a manner akin to a forested green wall”.

On the ground floor looking to the courtyard, one experiences the effect of being in a lush green valley enveloped by nature, with hanging creepers flowing down from high above. The courtyard also acts to introduce natural light, ventilation, and views of nature deep into the house on all storeys, while providing a sense of security and privacy.

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“I am a keen gardener and nature lover so I wanted to create a new style of house for the tropics which is practical in Singapore’s hot and humid climate,” explains Brit Guz Wikinson, founder and principal architect of Guz Architects.

His design principles involve large overhangs which draw the outdoors in. Likewise, the UK-trained architect tries to steer clear of boxy designs that cannot afford room for such seamless integration.

Wilkinson starts by understanding the lay of the land—“the views, breeze, sun paths, and the like”—which he then merges with the client’s brief to deliver a project that balances functionality and the natural world. To that end, Guz Architects focuses on natural materials as much as possible.

A project that Wilkinson feels translates that design ethos in the best way possible is Olive House, where interconnecting courtyards of greenery and water elements provide garden views as well as maximum airflow to cool down the house.

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With global warming, Wilkinson foresees a major wave of change towards greener architecture, especially in Singapore’s architectural market. “Singapore has one of the highest carbon footprints per capita in the world so eventually it will be totally unsustainable to build such large bungalows,” he adds.

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For Gwen Tan, one of the quartet of founders of Formwerkz Architects, “architecture is a form of liveable art that needs to be appropriate to the environment and meaningful to its users”. For this avid plant and nature lover, greenery is a big part of all the firm’s projects.

Her passion for fashion and travel, zest for exploration, and overall love for life also play a big part in her design sensibilities. “I love to play with lighting, be it daylight or electrically powered. I sculpt with space and materials, and light is that important element that allows the outcome to be enjoyed with great pleasure.”

The EDL Regional Headquarters, which she completed recently under The Afternaut—one of the two design studios she launched within the firm—rethinks the concept of industrial design from being cold and utilitarian to highly human-centric in nature.

“The plan draws deeply on the ethos of a traditional ‘courtyard house’ that we had the privilege of completing in Beijing a few years ago,” explains Tan. “The central courtyard in the EDL building is designed to enhance human interactions, fostering stronger interpersonal ties within a very closely-knit business entity.”

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Under Studio If, Tan even designed a home in a mega yacht. “It was a totally different animal in itself. It required us to find suitable pieces as well as incorporate innovative safety details to safeguard pieces that were never designed to be in a moving environment,” she says. But dabbling with the unknown is second nature to Tan and something she looks forward to.

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For Lim Shing Hui, principal architect at L Architects, a common refrain from close collaborators has been that her design ethos exudes a strong spirit of curiosity. “I think I am very attuned to the feelings that a space or a project site gives me, and that perhaps has translated into experimentation work with a particular interest in finding an emotional connection with spaces that I design,” explains Lim.

When L Architects was launched in 2016, creative freedom was a key objective as Lim wanted to explore unconventional directions in her work and, as a result, gain a better understanding of herself—after all, “the life of an architect is very often uncovering who you truly are”, she says.

House of Parts, which Lim designed for a family of four, stands as a testament to Lim’s exploration of limits. In this case, it was extending the potential of an existing home by way of renovation and luring the client away from the demolition approach.

“We see preserving existing structures as being resourceful. I think House of Parts did attempt to change the perspective of the renovation approach,” says Lim. The result was not only a space that honours existing materials but also a delightful medley of stone, wood and clay.

Graceful curves veto space limitations while adding focus points. Subtle touches of greenery imbue it with a zen vibe and blur the traditional lines of indoors and outdoors.

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Lim’s design ethos sums up the concept behind the House of Parts, which also won her an award from the Singapore Institute of Architects’ (SIA) Architectural Design Awards 2024:

“Architecture has the power to evoke a wide range of emotions within us. The search is what keeps me motivated. I believe that a good piece of architecture has the ability to touch the human soul, communicate messages, stir empathy and, at the same time, quietly delight, and this in itself transcends mere physical realms.”

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Creating quality buildings informed by intelligence and cultural sensitivity—that summarises the vision steering Red Bean Architects as conceptualised by founding principal Teo Yee Chin.

The firm name itself alludes to the bean’s cultural significance in Asia, explains architect Zeeson Teoh, who made partner at the firm in 2020. “The seed contains so much DNA that informs the full-grown plant, just like the ideas of an architect that shape a building.”

That thought process has helped Teoh expand his repertoire—from private landed residences to public projects in the civic, community and institutional sectors.

“I am not sure if I have a specific ‘style’ in my designs, and perhaps it is not important in my view, as it is more meaningful to design something that suits the needs of a specific project,” he explains. Although he puts impetus on being sensitive to the site content, programme and materials he works with, his priority is to trigger uncommon outcomes within set parameters.

The result of that ethos is very evident in the rejuvenation of Delta Sport Centre, the project that he is personally most proud of. It also won him Design of the Year at the 2023 SIA Architectural Design Awards.

“I truly believe there is significant potential in adaptive reuse,” he muses. “Through the intricate retention or even removal of existing structures and strategic interventions, the design transformed the complex, enhancing its presence and connectivity to the diverse neighbourhoods surrounding the vast site.”

A similar adaption and addition project is an apartment, where underused spaces such as the aircon ledge and balcony were reconfigured to meet the client’s space requirements as well as harmonise with nature, despite its high-rise setting.

“The design involves several key elements, maximising natural ventilation, optimising sunlight, and designing open spaces for a semi-outdoor experience.”

Singapore-based Malaysian architect Ling Hao established his eponymous firm in 2000. Having grown up in a stilted compound in Sarawak, Malaysia, Ling’s approach to design is to draw from the environment’s natural cooling abilities—an almost subtle revolution against the dominance of air conditioning in Singapore.

One of the projects most representative of his design ethos is Every Window a Garden, where he deconstructed the concept of what makes a typical pitched roof bungalow-style home, breaking down the walls, and expanding and redefining windows.

Built on his concept of reductive and adaptive, he cut away one-and-a-half metres of concrete floors on all levels, replacing them with perforated or expanded steel surfaces, through which the staircase winds through. Mini gardens in steel planters abound in the home and weave through the windows.

An animated steel façade is simulated by steel planters, complemented by rough, textured cement plaster. By creating various levels of what constitutes the interior and exterior of a building, the disparate parts of the home flow into each other.

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