This ethos has always been evident in the studio’s work, even in its pre-Pinnacle@Duxton days when their practice was more focused on building residential houses. And this focus has remained laser-sharp as they continue to build spaces that will contribute to “seeding life and community”. Their works now span hospitality projects such as Village Hotel, The Outpost Hotel and Barracks Hotel on Sentosa, and community spaces including Nee Soon East Community Centre, An Nur Mosque and Wesley Methodist Church.

Currently, the firm is also working on the renovation of Oasia Resort Sentosa (the former Le Meridien), as well as intergenerational community projects; the studio is looking into building a nursing home next to a kindergarten and incorporating a community space where seniors, parents, youth, children and teachers can mingle.

“I think there is a kind of richness to a life where different generations meet and there is a seeding of wisdom from the previous generation to nurture and care for the next generation,” says Khoo. “Our projects are now really extending into a different purview but the core foundation of it is our understanding of the house, the home and the family.”

Here, they share more about their design philosophy and the projects they hold most close and dear to their hearts.

Tell us more about your design philosophy. What are your key considerations when you start on a new project?

Peng Beng (PB): We start by talking with our clients. More and more, we actually have clients who have land, but they are not so sure what to do about their land. And so part of our work is also helping them to try to envision what could be possible in sit-down workshops.

Then we do research; we are constantly trying to evolve solutions that are safe for the world, safe for the planet and people. So this is the twin challenge of our age: environmental predation, social inequality, and the ongoing interactions between human beings and the environment. How does the environment affect the way people think and behave? We try to create designs that use not just material beauty, but the beauty of the community, trust, generosity, charity, and the more intangible aspects of architecture.

We try to connect ourselves with the time, the culture, the people [of each project] and try to meet them exactly where they are. And we always say that this is part of our practice of hospitality, where we create a space that doesn’t have any boundaries so that people can cross over and become friends. 

As a couple, how do you work as part of a team?

Belinda Huang (BH): I think we are really quite blessed that it’s a harmonious working relationship. We have a philosophy in our office, which sort of represents how we work as a couple as well: that there is never any bad idea. So we always encourage everything to be said. We analyse (problems) together and look at them, whether as a couple or as an office, and that's how we can really start to choose what we think is the best; the best concept or the best solution for the project. So there’s never a clash of egos really, in the office. It’s just about honouring each other. 

PB: The stressful parts are often related to time management; like a time crunch or something like that. But we're also able to shift stuff around to address the stress. For example, we didn’t anticipate something that could become stressful, but most of the time, we are able to adapt and be okay. 

BH: It really helps that there's an alignment of values, since we’re married as well; I mean, if we don’t do well in the office, and I better look at our marriage! When we first started (our practice), we just (worked on) smaller houses with our individual clients. We don’t just receive a brief of ‘X’ number of rooms, or how many kitchens you want; we actually like to hear how they live, how they are living at that moment. We like to see our spaces be able to support relationships in a way that benefits (the users) as well.

So we have always been interested in listening (to go) deeper into (what) the heart needs. For example, a homeowner loves to cook, but she also loves to be with the children. So we placed her kitchen almost in the centre of the house so that she had visibility of the children's room. And up to this day even when they're adults already, (the kitchen has) become central still to their whole family life. And I think we really enjoy that. I love it most to see the spaces in use, and what it does for those people using it as well. 

So it got a little bit harder when we had larger projects because you don't know who's going to live in it. So that has always been our interest because when there were certain times we would just design a space that we would love to see that our loved ones (would) love to stay in.

How does your focus on social impact and sustainability shape the way you design your projects?

PB: From the environmental perspective, by learning from nature, biodiversity becomes a central focus. So it becomes a driver of design. In our most recent project, the Catholic Hub by the Archdiocese, we are building next to the Macritchie Nature Reserve, so there are monkeys and (wildlife) that might come over to the property. So we look at a different way of coexistence. When we shift biodiversity and social equity as one of our core design drivers, our design inherently will transform and change.

Nature is not only about plants, it’s also about human beings; fundamentally, it is about our relationship with the world. So the needs of nature, the needs of human beings and all that will inherently change the way we approach design. And I think this is already happening. We are becoming more and more conscious about energy and water (consumption), and also to be conscious of the intangible stuff.

BH: All this kind of hoarding and buying and overconsumption, you can almost see that as a form of addiction, that means people are not really happy. So they are needing to do something to feed that pain. So what is this pain? So, I think it all goes back to when we talk about the environment, right, there’s years and years of conversation about greening and the ozone layer, and so little focus on the human social side of things. And we’re not just talking about the poor and the hungry.

Even in Singapore, we’re seeing a whole rise of mental issues. Yes, (there’s the) Covid-19 pandemic. But the true ‘pandemic’ of the world is really anxiety and depression. So that’s another kind of poverty, isn't it?

The Pinnacle@Duxton was the big project that put your firm on the map. Do you ever go back to your projects to see how it comes to life?

PB: One of the things that we love is to see how people find different ways to celebrate and use the spaces. For the Pinnacle@Duxton, we look at the family unit as the foundation of the community. And wouldn’t it be nice if the rooftop was not this small little space, but was (instead) this long, connected, amazing park? Like if you went up to the top of a mountain to watch the sunrise or the sunset. So, we have (something) like an urban mountain (with the Pinnacle@Duxton). On one of the bridges, you see a little mound and a little observation dish, right? That’s our mountaintop.

BH: When we were designing it, we checked the levels of the bridges, and then (we realised) they’re not even taller than Bukit Timah Hill. So Peng Beng created that mound just to do that. For the Pinnacle@Duxton, when we decided to take part in this competition, there was at that time, no such high-density projects. (Back then), we didn’t have a 50-storey apartment (building) that you can experience in Singapore, and definitely no public housing in that way.

I remember some of the architects and I, we went down to this HDB (Housing Development Board) block in Holland Village that was over 20-storeys (high) and it was in this C-shape; we imagined four of those blocks stacked on each other and it was daunting just for us to try and figure out what it’s going to feel like to live in such a high-density development. So we tried to make that as experiential as possible. We created certain controls that we wanted to put into our design and one of them is to look at as many distant views as possible. So you can see that our Pinaccle@Duxton is actually like a string of blocks in beads linked together by these massive bridges.

There are so many people—close to 8000 people—(living) in there, so (therein came) the idea of injecting as many public spaces as possible for them to use. Originally, we had thought it (would be) wonderful if we could customise it. That’s why when you see the facade, (we wanted to) have (some) plugins: you could choose the plan, you can make choices to which unit you wanted, which element you want. That mini autonomy given to the buyer was also something we wanted. 

PB: We had a friend of ours who lived in the Pinnacle@Duxton (but) had to shift out because of their expanding family. And they were so sad to leave; they held this party, they signed on the wall, then the kids were posing in every corner because they grew up there. It’s so heartwarming that the spaces we’ve created (made) so many stories with others that we don’t even know; we love that. 

I think there is a way we can evolve into a more lush jungle environment in our urban setting that also allows people to participate, rather than have somebody do everything for you, leave some of these to be done by yourself, for the community. Singapore is really in a bubble, we’re very protected and very blessed in many ways. But in Southeast Asia, there is a lot of development work needed in the region. 

BH: When we talk like this, it doesn’t mean that the architect is the one that is going to do all that. But I think we have a very key role to play in it as well. We are supporting NGOs in Rwanda to  provide a community space for these people who truly need help, who are way below the poverty line, and there’s no way they can lift themselves out, they’re in need of education and in need of love.

We are very grateful that we have that opportunity to go in and create workshops and work with those people on the ground to really talk about their dreams for their own people. And to go in with the most respect into that space, we have to be very sensitive to the power dynamics. We say, ‘Let us serve you; tell us what your dreams are’. And we find that really meaningful to be able to do that, to go in with a lot of humility.

We’ve also gone into Cambodia to build schools, but before we even design, we will hold workshops where [the student beneficiaries] build their own dream houses using coloured paper. When you start drawing, you start building a common language. So architecture has that possibility and that power to connect. 

PB: We also have this environmental, sustainable township in the heart of Malaysia affecting biodiversity, forestry, food, and those kind of issues. And potentially, we are also looking at some more projects in Cambodia and Myanmar. It’s about giving back (to the community) when we go back to do developmental work. We are aware of where we come from, and the possibility of new technology spearheading the new generation of developments, and the time needed for society to develop. The spaces that we create support the human development of that place, wherever they might be, wherever they choose to go. I think this idea of a common home is a powerful one; the Earth is our common home, isn't it? 

BH: Housing should be a right for every single human being. So I think that’s when we do projects that are meaningful that talk about levelling the big [wealth] divide, we can bring about some sense of equality. But that’s huge work to do. But I think we just need to start somewhere.