Home tour: a Bukit Timah Good Class Bungalow that unfolds to reveal landscape and everyday rituals

The Fold is a two-storey bungalow with an attic and basement, spanning a site area of 1,362.6 sq m and a total floor area of just over 1,070 sq m. Five bedrooms, each with an ensuite, are distributed with intention. The second level is largely dedicated to the children, while the attic level is reserved exclusively for the parents. Entertainment spaces, including a wine cellar, are tucked into the basement, leaving the ground floor free to function as a continuous social plane.

Rather than designing the house around a conventional living room, K2LD organised the first floor around a sequence of dining and cooking spaces. This decision was shaped by the clients themselves—particularly the mother and son, who are both enthusiastic cooks. Hence, the kitchen does not sit apart as a utilitarian zone, but instead anchors the home’s social life, flowing into a succession of dining areas, each calibrated for a different mood or scale of gathering.

At the heart of this sequence is a double-height dining space that opens fully onto the garden and swimming pool. Here, sliding glass panels disappear entirely into wall pockets, dissolving the boundary between inside and out. With the pool on one side and a koi pond on the other, reflections of water and greenery animate the interior throughout the day, creating a room that feels immersed rather than enclosed.

One of the defining gestures of the house is its slanted roof, which descends seamlessly to become the rear wall. This continuous plane unites roof and façade in a single architectural move, lending the house a sense of motion despite its grounded materials. Light and shadow trace this surface across the day, subtly shifting the character of the home without theatrical effect.

At the rear of the site, a dining pavilion echoes this language. Its mirrored slanted roof opens toward the garden and pool, establishing a quiet dialogue between the main house and its extension. Together, these planes frame views and choreograph movement, guiding the eye outward while reinforcing a sense of shelter.

The same approach carries through to the upper levels. On the second storey, perforated aluminium screens front the children’s bedrooms. Their geometric pattern references the angular logic of the slanted roofs, filtering sunlight while maintaining privacy. Operable and tactile, these screens animate the façade without resorting to ornament.

Despite its substantial footprint, The Fold is designed to be lived in lightly. Large pocket windows and fully openable panels allow cross-ventilation to flow naturally through the house, reducing reliance on air conditioning. The interiors remain breezy and calm, even during Singapore’s warmer months.

Landscape is not treated as an external backdrop but as an active participant in daily life. The father’s passion for gardening informed the integration of planting throughout this Bukit Timah home, from the koi pond and garden edges to pockets of greenery embedded within the architecture itself. Nowhere is this more evident than in the attic level, where lush vegetation wraps the parental suite, creating the sensation of living within a garden canopy while remaining secluded from view.

Cable railings, generous glazing and layered roof overhangs further reinforce the dialogue between architecture and landscape. The house feels open without being exposed, offering long views through greenery while carefully shielding itself from neighbouring properties.

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Material choices throughout the project are deliberate and restrained. Travertine was selected for its durability and timelessness, grounding the house both visually and materially. Its textured surface lends warmth and depth, particularly when contrasted with aluminium cladding, which introduces a sharper, contemporary edge.

Inside, the palette remains calm and tactile. Marble, timber and woven vinyl flooring delineate different zones without disrupting the overall continuity of space. The result is a home that feels suited to both everyday living and more formal occasions, capable of hosting large gatherings without slipping into formality.

Completed over a period of approximately two and a half years, The Fold reflects K2LD’s approach to bespoke residential architecture—one shaped by how people move, gather and withdraw, rather than by overt stylistic ambition.

This Bukit Timah home does not announce itself loudly to the street, nor does it rely on spectacle once inside. Instead, its strength lies in the way spaces connect, unfold and respond to light and landscape over time. In a dense urban context, The Fold achieves a rare balance: a home that is both protected and porous, composed yet deeply lived-in.

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