The landscape is abstracted from the design ethos of Chinese Gardens in generating borrowed landscapes with a need for visual relief and privacy. The intent was to erase the boundary line between the two houses so that spatially, sight lines expand and spaces are layered repeatedly, culminating in a complex sense of spatial depth. This takes place in both axis from the front to back of the house and between the two inward looking houses. One gets the presence of the other, yet both houses remain independent in a mutually dependent space.
During the design process in exploring the volumetric shifts in the house, we worked closely with FARM to extend one of the volumes out into the central median landscape. Walls slide out to form the outdoor room, providing the outdoor study patio and reflecting pool. These elements continue to slide dynamically on the second floor to extend the spaces in the master suite out towards the lawn with a razor thin bridge over the sky pool. The softscape, meticulously pre-selected and pre-grown in a local nursery, is designed to tuck both houses perceptively into a forest and to borrow the thick foliage from its neighbour. This thus extends the space outdoors seamlessly to the rear while gradually thinning out in the front to reveal its austere facade.
Entrant office name: LOCUS ASSOCIATES LTD.
Role of the entrant in the project: Landscape Consultant – Concept/ Schematic/ Design Development/ Construction Review
Website: www.locusassociates.com
Other design firms involved: N/A
Project location: East Coast, Singapore
Design year: 2010
Year Built: 2013
