Seletar Close

Project details
Architect : Formwerkz Architects
Design Team : Seetoh K.L, Alan Tay, Gwen Tan, Berlin Lee, JY Pang,     XuanYi, EkaChai
Completion : March 2009

The idea of cluster living "apartments" with open communal spaces was devised for the multi-generation families living under one roof. Work spaces, fun spaces, personal spaces & family spaces were designed according to each family member's needs. Parallely, Formwerkz Architects secured the required privacies. Hierarchies of spaces (and family cells) were carefully expressed in choice materials and architectural languages. In order to respect the individuals' differences and desires, natural materials, colours and textures. "As we've always believed that dwelling spaces are organic, most elements were designed to be easily de-mountable and replaceable. The strategy allowed room for future growth, since we started bare & simple.", commented the architects.

The house is constituted by two volumes and is developed in three levels. The members of the family enjoy their individualism and their personal spaces reflect their secret desires. The communal space is the most important space in the house and encourages the sense of community. On the ground level, a swimming pool occupies the central courtyard space between the two volumes and creates simultaneously a sense of physical detachment and a unity in use as everyone in the family loves to swim. The family space above the swimming pool bridge not only the members of the family but also the two volumes of the house. All the communal spaces are designed to be porous to promote visual connectivity between the spaces.

On second level, the master bedroom in the concrete box, cantilever over the living space below. On the left, the daughter's timber box balcony with the sliding movie screen wall, hover above the dining terrace. On the ground level behind the dining terrace there is a row of old pine trees.

Balconies for the bedrooms on the third floor link the quarters to the roof garden on the parent's volume. The roof garden and the "reflective" pool above the family space are the two linking points that connect the two volumes of the house. The water body serves as a calming foreground to the distant view for the rooms on the upper floors and is effective in reducing thermal gain for the space below.

Information: Formwerkz Architects
Plans: Formwerkz Architects
Photo Credit: Jeremy San

Editing: Maria Papadimitriou, architect engineer