work thoughts being

Commune

The last decades saw a significant shift in many Asian societies from a collectivist to an individualist one. Whilst acknowledging the benefits of this, our clients also recognised those brought about by collectivism and communal living. We were tasked with creating a home that balanced these opposing principles.

The house is inhabited by our clients, a pair of siblings and their respective families, who bought a plot of steep sloping land right next to their parents’ home. It was to be a home marrying traditional values of multigenerational living with the privacy necessitated by contemporary living.

Being in a country with a relatively flat landscape, coupled with our clients’ heritage, our imagination took us to village houses in the mountainous regions of China ‐ its winding, unpaved paths rising up; its distinct roof forms cascading down the landscape. From this, we conceptualised the clients’ parents as the village heads; and the clients as the villagers in their terraced pavilions, responding to the site terrain. The series of pavilions mediate the building bulk that the clients’ spatial requirement would otherwise generate, avoiding a dominating structure that would have upset the streetscape.

The pavilions define a central courtyard ‐ the heart of the house and a focal point of family activities. In reconsidering the conventional entry sequence of residential dwellings, the entrance pavilion was conceived to create a layered arrival experience, marking the transition between indoor and outdoor; public and private. The extensive use of timber in 3:2 House represents a continuation of our studio’s exploration of what timber craftsmanship can look like in contemporary architecture, especially in our local climactic context. In 3:2 House, we strived for its detailing to result in a clean modern aesthetic that embodies the quality craftsmanship of the past.

Project Year | Completed 2019

Location | Singapore

Photographer | Edward Hendricks, Chris O'Grady, Fabian Ong

Expertise | Architecture and Interior

Press | CNA Luxury: In Singapore, two siblings build a home next door to their parents to foster familial ties

The last decades saw a significant shift in many Asian societies from a collectivist to an individualist one. Whilst acknowledging the benefits of this, our clients also recognised those brought about by collectivism and communal living. We were tasked with creating a home that balanced these opposing principles.

The house is inhabited by our clients, a pair of siblings and their respective families, who bought a plot of steep sloping land right next to their parents’ home. It was to be a home marrying traditional values of multigenerational living with the privacy necessitated by contemporary living.

Being in a country with a relatively flat landscape, coupled with our clients’ heritage, our imagination took us to village houses in the mountainous regions of China ‐ its winding, unpaved paths rising up; its distinct roof forms cascading down the landscape. From this, we conceptualised the clients’ parents as the village heads; and the clients as the villagers in their terraced pavilions, responding to the site terrain. The series of pavilions mediate the building bulk that the clients’ spatial requirement would otherwise generate, avoiding a dominating structure that would have upset the streetscape.

The pavilions define a central courtyard ‐ the heart of the house and a focal point of family activities. In reconsidering the conventional entry sequence of residential dwellings, the entrance pavilion was conceived to create a layered arrival experience, marking the transition between indoor and outdoor; public and private. The extensive use of timber in 3:2 House represents a continuation of our studio’s exploration of what timber craftsmanship can look like in contemporary architecture, especially in our local climactic context. In 3:2 House, we strived for its detailing to result in a clean modern aesthetic that embodies the quality craftsmanship of the past.