House at Oei Tiong Ham Park

This family home is located on two plots of land. One belonged to the owners' husband's family and they subsequently purchased the other plot when they got married. The owners’ brief prescribed an understated and timeless building that would respect the topography of the land. The house is an expression of luxury through the use of simple forms that embraces beautiful surroundings without restraint. Central to the concept for the project was an understanding of the site and how to maximise the use of the land without destroying the natural contours of the site. The design uses buildings that sit along the contours of the site rather than across them which would have required excessive cut-and-fill. The result is a house of simple forms put together elegantly and serves well the needs of the family; segregating entertainment areas from family rooms. Differing from neighbouring houses which front the street, this house is shrouded behind planting and a large garden to preserve an element of mystery when viewed from the street. Inspired by Mies’ Farnsworth House, the living room was designed as a separate pavilion, in fair-faced concrete, set apart from the main house that acts as a backdrop to embrace the surrounding greenery. The structural columns were placed on the outer edge of the pavilion to allow flexibility in how the space can be used and furnished akin to Mies’ idea of the “universal space”. A sheltered linkbridge connects the pavilion to the main house. The main house comprises a basement, first and second storeys that are connected with a sculptural staircase wrapping round the lift core. The second storey, where the bedrooms are located, was conceived as a monolithic brick block with small fenestrations to differentiate it as the most private spaces. The monolithic block partially cantilevers out to serve as a sun-shading overhang for the west-facing full-height glass façade at the first storey. Elements from the owner’s childhood home such as fair-faced bricks and terrazzo floor tiles, were re-interpreted into parts of the new vocabulary of the house. The intentionally restrained palette of materiality allows the spatial qualities and fine craftsmanship of the building elements to stand out.