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A Back-to-Back House With a Show-Stopping Roof
Archifest 2019 festival director Alan Tay takes us on a tour of the award-winning Aperture House in Singapore
This semi-detached house cuts a striking profile in a neighbourhood typified by red terracotta-tiled roofs. Teak slats atop a pitched metal roof and uncomplicated concrete walls give it a high-end resort vibe that doesn’t disappoint when you get inside. Named Aperture House, this project by Formwerkz Architects was awarded an Honourable Mention in the 2019 Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA) Architectural Design Awards.
“The roof was influenced by the old Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) regulations prior to envelope control, where one point of the attic roof must be pitched no more than 45 degrees. The steep pitch creates a dramatic roof and ceiling feature from the interior that is expressed in teak and steel,” says Tay.
Most semi-detached houses are orientated with the long shared wall running from front to back of the property line. This site presented an unusual orientation where the houses are back to back. This gives the front of the house a wide facade (27.5 metres) and the appearance of a bungalow.
Most semi-detached houses are orientated with the long shared wall running from front to back of the property line. This site presented an unusual orientation where the houses are back to back. This gives the front of the house a wide facade (27.5 metres) and the appearance of a bungalow.
“Apart from windows, there are 10 skylights on the roof terrace and one big aperture in the pitched roof and another one in the courtyard.
“These apertures are sized in different variations to allow for different amounts of natural daylight to filter through the house. The apertures in the roof terrace are concentrated over the pool,” says Tay.
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“These apertures are sized in different variations to allow for different amounts of natural daylight to filter through the house. The apertures in the roof terrace are concentrated over the pool,” says Tay.
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The roof’s striking form and shade provide for generous outdoor space while still fulfilling the need for privacy.
Image by Reef Singh
The client requested perfectly formed concrete walls for both the interior and exterior without tie-rod holes. The contractor had to engineer a new method to achieve this.
The client requested perfectly formed concrete walls for both the interior and exterior without tie-rod holes. The contractor had to engineer a new method to achieve this.
“We conceived and articulated the curved stairs to be a sculptural object in the staircase void to create visual interest,” says Tay.
The cool, shadowy realm of the stairwell, with its near-black walls, ceiling and balustrade, distinguishes this transitional space from the rest of the house, which receives plenty of daylight.
The cool, shadowy realm of the stairwell, with its near-black walls, ceiling and balustrade, distinguishes this transitional space from the rest of the house, which receives plenty of daylight.
Apertures or skylights seen from the roof terrace
Having designed many courtyards in previous projects, Formwerkz wanted to do something different this time and conceptualised a terrarium-like courtyard.
Image by Reef Singh
Another twist on the traditional courtyard concept is the level at which it sits. This is the shared boundary wall where a narrow courtyard has been built. Having the trees in planters elevates them, “giving you the feeling of being in a sunken space,” says Tay. He describes it as “an ant’s perspective,” where the slender tree trunks – something easily overlooked – become the focus on the ground floor.
Another twist on the traditional courtyard concept is the level at which it sits. This is the shared boundary wall where a narrow courtyard has been built. Having the trees in planters elevates them, “giving you the feeling of being in a sunken space,” says Tay. He describes it as “an ant’s perspective,” where the slender tree trunks – something easily overlooked – become the focus on the ground floor.
Your turn
Which feature impresses you the most here? Tell us in the Comments below, like this story, save the images, and join the conversation.
More
Want more international design inspiration? Don’t miss Before & After: A Former Foundry Becomes a Jaw-Dropping New Home
Which feature impresses you the most here? Tell us in the Comments below, like this story, save the images, and join the conversation.
More
Want more international design inspiration? Don’t miss Before & After: A Former Foundry Becomes a Jaw-Dropping New Home
Who lives here: A couple
Location: Seletar, Singapore
Type of property: A semi-detached house
Architect: Formwerkz Architects
Aperture House – the moniker couldn’t be more apt. American painter and sculptor Ellsworth Kelly said “Photography isolates the world via an aperture”. Here, it was the clients’ explicit wish to be disengaged from the outside world when inside their home. Privacy as well as blocking the harsh sunlight and heat were their main concerns.
Alan Tay, founding partner at Formwerkz Architects and festival director of 2019’s Archifest in Singapore, explains the term. “Very much like how the aperture in photography calibrates the opening to control the amount of light, these apertures capture, calibrate and contain the right amount of daylight within,” he says.
Ensuring privacy when you have a pool in front of the house may seem unworkable, but the design team responded by extending the roof by a massive five metres. This forms a ‘ceiling’ over the pool and cuts off the view looking in from outside the building’s wall. Then through a series of apertures or skylights cut into the roof, filtered light reaches the pool.
Tay points to the sentry of trees between the pool and the boundary wall to throw more light upon the clients’ brief: “They appreciate nature in a controlled aesthetic. This appreciation for the simplicity of nature translates into a disciplined and considered garden where a few trees make a huge impact.”