22-05-2025
Life around a courtyard
WALLFLOWER Architects' residential projects – Touching Eden House, Forgetting Time House, Secret Garden House, Pocket Garden House – evoke images of greenery and idyllic escapes. The Singapore firm's latest project, titled Open Courtyard House, is no different.
Its businessman owner, Khua, was adamant about wanting a courtyard in his new home, inspired by one of Wallflower's designs. But the first plot he fell in love with was too long and narrow, and deemed unsuitable by Robin Tan, the architecture firm's founder.
A few months later, Khua chanced upon the perfect plot in the Gilstead area near Novena. 'It was in a cul-de-sac, in a quiet neighbourhood with a wide shape,' he describes. 'I liked it even more.'
There were other bonuses, including being closer to his three tween and teenage children's schools than their previous home in the east. There was a supermarket nearby, and it was close to town.
The 8,400 square foot detached house was christened Open Courtyard House because of a void in the C-shaped plan. Tan placed the swimming pool in this void, and framed it with greenery. 'The lush landscaping softens the hard architectural edges of the building and integrates it into its surroundings,' he says, on his trademark approach of wrapping houses with plenty of plants.
The basement entertainment room faces a garden with a skylight. PHOTO: MARC TEY
Rather than building upwards to create a tall house, Tan dug downwards to create a basement, where he placed the entertainment room, a den – Khua's 'man cave', he quips – and service areas in the back. The reason for this was Khua's preference for a sloping roof.
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'That made it difficult to accommodate a meaningful third level within the regulatory attic envelope (guidelines). So we designed a full basement instead.'
The master bathroom has a simple, clean palette. PHOTO: MARC TEY
A skylight running the length of the courtyard brings ample daylight and natural ventilation into the subterranean space, where Tan added an underground garden. At the top of the house, the roof peaks at the two ends of the C-shaped plan, and dips in the centre portion, giving the house a dynamic and sculptural presence.
Khua's mother comes to stay with the family occasionally, and her room is on the second storey, facing the road but screened off by a timber brise-soleil with a timber-print finish. This material clads parts of the facade, giving the house a warm countenance. On the first storey, it covers the entrance walls and ceiling, and tapers upward in a welcoming gesture.
The car porch is integrated beneath the second storey. PHOTO: MARC TEY
'Detached houses in Singapore are subject to maximum 50 per cent site coverage. To optimise usable space, we integrated the car porch beneath the second storey, effectively 'saving' site coverage (that was used for other more important spaces),' explains Tan about the clever form-meets-function trick. The timber look is matched with grey roof tiles and sleek travertine cladding that provides thermal mass, keeping the interiors cool.
The master bedroom as seen from the staircase wing. PHOTO: MARC TEY
Khua also insisted that the staircase be tucked to one gabled edge and fronted with screens so that at night, this part of the house becomes a sort of lantern, glowing with filtered light. Tan placed it at the front of the house together with the elevator. This circulation core buffers the living and dining area, which bends around the courtyard to cradle the study room.
The staircase at the front of the house. PHOTO: MARC TEY
All these spaces are framed by large, floor-to-ceiling sliding doors that can be tucked into the walls for unobscured views of the gardens. The large openings 'extend the views' beyond each space, says Tan. 'We always like homeowners to feel the full length and depth (of a house) as much as possible.'
The living and dining areas open out on both sides to the outdoors. PHOTO: MARC TEY
These generously sized apertures provide good daytime illumination and natural ventilation. Khua quips that one of his sons sometimes falls asleep on the sofa in the living room, lulled by the natural breeze. Happy plants (Dracaena Massangeana) line the perimeter garden on one side, while money plants (Crassula Ovata) rise up the basement garden on the other, merging with the courtyard's verdant landscape.
The study is located on one end of the courtyard. PHOTO: MARC TEY
On the second storey, the children's bedrooms line up in a row behind the grandmother's bedroom. The master bedroom suite is tucked in the rear, above the study in the kink of the C-shaped plan. It's an ideal shape that provides privacy while fostering interaction across the courtyard. Corridors opening to the courtyard mean the family is in constant engagement with the outdoors.
The master bedroom looks out into the courtyard. PHOTO: MARC TEY
Like the auspiciously named plants, Khua, his wife and children are enjoying life in their new home. Khua says that when his children bring friends home, they like to congregate in the entertainment room. 'The living room in my previous house was smaller, so the kids couldn't wait to finish eating and leave. Now they sit in the living area (even after their meal),' adds the beaming father.
