Cover Clustered pendant lamps animate the semi-detached house’s living space, appearing to float within the double-height volume
Clustered pendant lamps animate the semi-detached house’s living space, appearing to float within the double-height volume
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Ming Architects designed a semi-detached home with a modern Australian aesthetic for a Singaporean homeowner who enjoys drink and conversation with friends to the backdrop of their automobiles
The first thing one notes when entering this house is a glass-walled lounge room facing the car porch. While many homeowners in Singapore prefer to keep the view away from cars, this particular professional who lives with his veterinarian wife and young children wanted a space to enjoy wine and conversation with friends with their automobiles as the backdrop.
“The owners are Porsche enthusiasts [with a GT3] and enjoy hosting gatherings with their like-minded friends who are also car-lovers. The car porch can accommodate up to six cars during these gatherings,” shares architect Tan Cher Ming, who runs his eponymous firm, Ming Architects.
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Above The lounge opens towards the exterior, with views through layered screens and glazing
The lounge opens towards the exterior, with views through layered screens and glazing
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Above The garage is visually connected to the interior through full-height glazing, with a Porsche on display
The garage is visually connected to the interior through full-height glazing, with a Porsche on display
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The semi-detached house is located in the east of the island. Tan designed the wine rack to be at the front of the house next to the lounge as a decorative feature as well. There are scalloped frames to hold wine bottles. Two-sided glass panels bring daylight into the lounge and make this feature shine like a lantern at night.
“The custom wine cellar allows views through a glass panel to the exterior garden. At the same time, to prevent heat transfer, we installed an external, automated blind system, which can be fully closed or open, and controlled from the lounge room,” explains the architect.
Above Named the Halcyon House, this semi-detached house in the east is designed as a three-storey home with an attic, maximised within a 15.5m height envelope
Named the Halcyon House, this semi-detached house in the east is designed as a three-storey home with an attic, maximised within a 15.5m height envelope
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Above External screens provide privacy and shade control for the double-height living area facing the street
Above A suspended wine storage system sits in front of a screened façade, filtering daylight
External screens provide privacy and shade control for the double-height living area facing the street
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Above The basement level is organised around a central circulation spine with clear sightlines across spaces
The basement level is organised around a central circulation spine with clear sightlines across spaces
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This is one of the gestures that bring natural light into the home. The overall allowable height of the house was limited to 15.5 metres (called the Envelope Control) and is in a busy built-up residential area. As such, the house was maximised to three storeys and an attic, with limited openings at the elevations.
“Natural ventilation enters the house through the glass sliding doors at the living spaces, and rain is kept at bay by overhangs created by recessing the glass doors,” says Tan on designing a home that works well with tropical weather.
Above The lounge sits behind sliding glass doors and external screens
Above Sliding glass doors connect the living area to the outdoors while allowing
The lounge sits behind sliding glass doors and external screens
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Above The semi-detached home’s living, dining and kitchen areas are placed on the second storey to optimise light and privacy
The semi-detached home’s living, dining and kitchen areas are placed on the second storey to optimise light and privacy
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The lounge and back-of-house are located on the first storey, and the living, dining and kitchen areas on the second storey for privacy and light. While this accommodates the large car porch below, elevating the living area also has the boon of being connected to the outdoor car porch roof terrace garden. The third storey contains bedrooms including one for grandparents, and the attic is the homeowner’s suite, complete with a gaming room for him and his wife.
“We wanted a lot of natural light, and definitely a skylight. We also wanted a house with a ‘modern Australian architectural style’ and a gaming room,” says the homeowner. “For the rest of the brief, I left it to Cher Ming.” On the aforementioned style, the architect translated it to meaning via a house with plenty of light and an open quality.
Above The semi-detached home’s staircase is conceived as a large open void, connecting the attic to the ground floor below
Above An open-riser staircase allows light to penetrate through the home
The semi-detached home’s staircase is conceived as a large open void, connecting the attic to the ground floor below
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Above A skylight above the staircase brings additional daylight into the interior
A skylight above the staircase brings additional daylight into the interior
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He gave the living area a double-storey height with equally tall openings to optimise natural illumination during the day, but added screens for privacy and shade control as the space directly fronts the street. In the evening, a lantern-like effect is created with the screens, layered with the staircase’s silhouette behind and animated with a cluster of bauble-like lamps at the living room that appear to float in the void.
Above Double-volume living room with external screens filtering light, casting graphic shadows across the semi-detached house’s interiors
Double-volume living room with external screens filtering light, casting graphic shadows across the semi-detached house’s interiors
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This layering was deliberate, to augment the amount of light and the sense of openness within the narrow plot. A skylight above helps bring more daylight in during the day. The staircase has a streamlined character due to slim metal balustrades. Its white balustrades and light wooden staircase treads reflect the abundant sunlight that is in sync with the rest of the house’s light palette.
Above A double-height void with tall openings enhances natural illumination in the main living area
A double-height void with tall openings enhances natural illumination in the main living area
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Above A smaller rock garden lines the walkway, paired with artwork from the homeowner’s personal collection
Above A compact bar counter integrates a sink and overhead glass rack
A smaller rock garden lines the walkway, paired with artwork from the homeowner’s personal collection
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“It is a large, open void, steel open-riser staircase, which allows views and light to penetrate down from the attic to the ground floor below,” Tan describes. He adds that the house’s materiality was kept simple and controlled to a palette of timber-printed aluminium for the external screens and sliding gate, granite wall cladding for the external walls, and powder-coated aluminium for all the metal frames.
Above The dining area features a fluted column detail and is positioned within the second-storey living zone for natural light and ventilation
Above The kitchen pairs timber cabinetry with a striking marble backsplash
The dining area features a fluted column detail and is positioned within the second-storey living zone for natural light and ventilation
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Above The island doubles as a breakfast counter, defined by fluted timber detailing and a continuous marble surface
The island doubles as a breakfast counter, defined by fluted timber detailing and a continuous marble surface
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“We have young children and a pet dog so the materials chosen must not only be beautiful, but also easy to maintain and resilient for day-to-day use without it aging too quickly,” says the homeowner.
While the house allows him to indulge in his hobbies, it also embodies some sentimentality. At the base of the staircase is a karesanui—Japanese rock garden, accompanied by artwork on the nearby walls. There is a smaller version at the attic balcony as the view for the walk-in wardrobe.
Above The semi-detached home’s bedroom continues the home’s restrained material palette
Above A stone vanity contrasts with darker finishes, accompanied by pendant lighting and framed artwork
The semi-detached home’s bedroom continues the home’s restrained material palette
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Above The semi-detached home’s walk-in wardrobe features stone counters and warm timber cabinetry, paired with soft pendant lighting
The semi-detached home’s walk-in wardrobe features stone counters and warm timber cabinetry, paired with soft pendant lighting
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The homeowner wanted to evoke “a feeling of zen and sense of tranquillity” with these features. “I have a varied art collection, which includes modern art and calligraphy. But I also have a few Chinese paintings belonging to my late father and I wanted some memory of him here,” he says, referring to the first storey rock garden.
Above A freestanding bathtub sits against a full-height stone wall, lit by a skylight above
Above The shower area is enclosed in glass, set against a textured stone wall with vertical striations
A freestanding bathtub sits against a full-height stone wall, lit by a skylight above
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Above A display niche showcases bicycles within the basement, framed by dark cabinetry
A display niche showcases bicycles within the basement, framed by dark cabinetry
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Tan christened this project The Halcyon House to express a sense of the past when times were idyllic, peacefully, prosperous and joyful—a golden era, so to speak. But such qualities are not in the past, but also the present as the family enjoys the house in many ways.
The lounge opens towards the exterior, with views through layered screens and glazing
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Credits
Photography: Studio Periphery
