Interview about 3G Home Residential House, winner of the A' Architecture, Building and Structure Design Award 2024
In the land scarce of Singapore, freehold landed houses are a family’s heirloom. Keeping the existing structures of the house, was a challenge to redesign a new architectural look and redeveloping the internal space planning. By focusing the key aspects, the project aims to create harmonious blend of modern and timeless charm, prioritize sustainable and durable materials to minimize long term maintenance costs and fostering a more harmonious and tranquil atmosphere.
View detailed images, specifications, and award details on A' Design Award & Competition website.
View Design DetailsThe main consideration while designing for multiple generations was ensuring there was both connection and privacy. The home needed spaces where the family could come together while also providing areas for independent living. We achieved this by adding reconfiguring the layout to achieve both private and common areas for different generations while keeping the existing structures.
The white façade was chosen to create a sense of purity, simplicity, and timeless elegance, also serving as a pure canvas for light and shadow. White surfaces, by nature, have the ability to reflect light, creating shadow and form throughout the day as the sun moves across the sky. Besides that, the white color contrasts with the natural surroundings, highlighting the home’s architectural features.
The primary technical challenges in integrating skylights was ensuring that natural light could flood the stairwell while simultaneously managing heat gain and glare. Skylights, while providing an abundance of natural light, can also allow unwanted heat from the sun to penetrate the home, making interior spaces uncomfortable and raising cooling costs. To address this, we chose skylights with advanced glazing technology that filters out up to 70% of heat without compromising the amount of natural light entering the space. We also ensure that the skylights were designed with adequate ventilation systems to promote air circulation. With this, we incorporated vented skylights to allow hot air and humidity to escape, contributing to the overall comfort and air quality inside the home.
Given the limited horizontal area of the site, the design strategy prioritized vertical expansion to maximize the available footprint. An additional level was introduced to accommodate more spaces for the family.
The powder-coated steel sun shading screen is an innovative design element that serves both aesthetic and functional purposes. Its evolution from concept to implementation was driven by the need to address practical considerations such as heat control, privacy from the neighborhood, and light filtering.
One of the main concerns when adding a new storey to an existing structure in a dense urban area is ensuring that the new addition does not overwhelm the surrounding buildings / disrupt the visual balance of the streetscape.
One of the most significant ways that can influence future residential architecture in Singapore is by highlighting the potential of adaptive reuse. Singapore, where land is scarce and expensive, the demolition of existing buildings to make way for new developments is often seen as the default approach. However, adaptive reuse / preserving and repurposing existing structures, can offer numerous benefits
The key element in achieving passive cooling and enhancing the comfort of the home in Singapore’s tropical climate. The design is centered around optimizing airflow, reducing the use of mechanical cooling systems, and maintaining energy efficiency.
I would say is the vertical extension of the home, which helped accommodate the increased space requirements of a multi-generational family. By adding an additional storey to the original structure, the design created additional living spaces without expanding the building's footprint.
The success of this project in transforming the internal spaces while keeping the existing structures is something I aim to explore further. Singapore’s urban landscape has a rich architectural history, and there are numerous opportunities for adaptive reuse in the future, where old buildings can be repurposed to meet contemporary needs. With this, it promotes sustainability.
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