The owners wanted a spacious, contemporary house that would be as open as possible but without compromising security and privacy at the same time. Surrounded by neighbours on four sides, the solution was a fully fenced compound with a spatial programme that internalised spaces such as pools and gardens, which are normally regarded as external to the envelope of the house. By zoning spaces such as the bedrooms and servants' quarters on alternative levels, i.e. 2nd storey and basement levels, the ground plane was freed from walls that would have been required if public and private programmes were interlaced on the same plane. The see-through volumes allow a continuous, uninterrupted 40-metres view, from the entrance foyer and pool, through the formal living area to the internal garden courtyard and formal dining area in the second volume. All these spaces are perceived to be within the built enclosure of the house.
The environmental transparencies at ground level and between courtyards are important in passively cooling the house. All the courtyards have differing material finishes and therefore differing heat gain and latency (water, grass, water, granite). As long as there are temperature differences between courtyards, the living, dining, and pool house become conduits for breezes that move in between the courtyards, very much like how land and sea breezes are generated. At the second storey, solid hardwood louvers that can be adjusted by hand allow the desired amount of breeze and sunlight to filter through.
Environmentally, the contiguous and interconnected space encourage the slightest breezes, whether they are prevailing and therefore air-movement is horizontal, or convectionally circulated, which the courtyards help generate. For the owner, it is the experiential serenity that unencumbered space, a gentle breeze, dappled sunlight and the hush of water rippling on a pond that is priceless in our dense and busy urbanscape.
Hidden away from the road, the site is surrounded by a verdant screen of mature trees from adjacent properties. Breezes blowing transversely across the site being another notable aspect of the location. The owner had wanted a contemporary home that prioritized environmental coolness as a consistent attribute and to be able to enjoy the luscious tropical surroundings.
The concept developed for the home inverted planning and hierarchical norms common in local residential planning. To fully appreciate the mature and variegated natural environment and stretch the potential for visual depth and distance, the main living room and study were located in a pavilion on the second storey. It was designed with minimal enclosing and supporting structure so as to maximize the elevated vistas. To unconsciously guide visitors to the living pavilion above, a minimal spiral staircase touches down within the entrance foyer. Hints of the tree-lined views are seen through the large circular void connecting the entrance foyer to the pavilion above. A dark reflecting pond surrounds the pavilion which assists in refining the experience of serene isolation and privacy and frames. The occasional bird dipping into the pond, rippling the surface further ties the house to the natural surroundings. The purpose of the second storey pond is also designed to thermally insulate the dining, bedrooms and family spaces underneath from solar heat gain. In the same way, the water body above also helps to regulate temperature swings within the house.
On the first storey, the residential and service functions of the house are delineated by a long continuous light and air well that is paralleled below by a similarly long and continuous koi pond. The pathway running along-side the pond that leads to the bedrooms hides the substantial service areas which are beyond the pathway wall. As with the second storey pond, the air well and first storey koi pond is also designed to facilitate in micro-cooling the first storey rooms and spaces. The pathway is a conduit for prevailing breezes; the koi pond's thirty metre length and two metre width exposes a sixty square metre surface area within the house to those breezes for evaporative cooling.
As a gesture to the prominent role that water plays within the residence, an oculus within the pond highlights the main entrance, the circle of sunlight cooled and animated by the constantly changing sinusoidal patterns of refracted rays through the water above.
Although the site was devoid of any development during the inception of the project, it was foreseen that the future built environment would be dense with neighbouring residences barely metres away on either side. The tropical sunlight falling on this resort island could also be harsh and intense but the proximity to the sea also blesses it with breezes that tend to channel through the waterways that are unique to the cove. Most properties along the waterway which also affords them best view, and the narrow rectangular project site was no different.
In response to the projected urban density and the site's local environment, the home is designed with a thick, nine metre high wall that forms the entrance facade which wraps around to continue along the sides. Like the pulling back of a curtain to reveal the view, the walls terminate as it approaches the waterway where thereafter an inner enclosing structure of paneled glass continues, projecting toward a pool and garden. The massive, enveloping entrance and side walls are essentially a thermal and privacy filter. The wall occludes views from inquisitive neighbours but encourage the passage of breezes that find their way through the house rather than around it by deliberate vertical slotting dividing the enclosing wall into free-standing segments. The slotting also helps to filter natural light into the house and soften the impact of the harsh sunlight. The secondary glass paneled enclosure within but set away from the enveloping walls is designed to slide away so that the impression of width does not terminate at the glass line but are extended to the tall side walls. The impression of space however goes even further, for the slots in the walls reveal landscaping that extends beyond. The walls are parallel to but do not meet the eaves of the roof; a metre wide gap invites sunlight to wash down onto planting and greenery that thrive on either side of the wall blurring the distinction of an 'inside' 'outside' demarcation. Though a vertical surface, the rough plastered texturing of the wall catches light streaming in from the gap above and diffuses it into the living spaces. Perhaps the spatial experience is best described as akin to being held in the loving cradle of two cupped, open hands.
Meridian House is a long and deep rhombus-shaped site with a slight taper towards the rear. Its longitudinal orientation in a north-east / south-west direction and narrowness became the challenge as the client's feng shui needs dictated all spaces to have a north-south orientation. In determining the spatial needs and relative positions of the rooms and spaces, a non-traditional approach to planning was needed to achieve traditional notions of procession and hierarchy within a home. This permitted efficient positioning of the service spaces for daily practicalities while still ensuring that these support spaces are not apparent. The public areas of the entrance hallway, living and dining are enjoyed without the distractions of the back-of-house, and instead are visually directed to lengths of pond and landscaped areas. Though not immediately obvious, the floor plan is staggered to accommodate feng shui. The stagger was planned at the living room, so that it would further reveal three-dimensional landscape vistas to the living room and hallway. These views would have only been to the side and substantially foreshortened without the stagger. The intentionally 'narrow' floor plan at the 2nd was to encourage breezes to cross. Fenestrative timber slatting help this environmental transparency, besides filtering solar heat, light and acting as fenestrative detail at the same time. These are further supplemented by deep cantilevered ledges which also give emphasis to visual length. The stair well and corridors are also light and air wells; they introduce a playful multi-storey void that allow convective breezes to occur and vent. All these give the house life as it breathes with its surroundings, and teases light to diffuse and fill its interior.
A single storey semi-detached house used to occupy the site. The owners wanted a bungalow, in the view of increasing property value as well as to house a large family.
Architecturally, the house reflected the owners' profile: Simple, unpretentious, casual & family oriented. The simplicity of line also lead to straight forward construction methods, with the use of tried and tested materials and void of superfluous embellishment.
Basically a simple box, the façade reacts with the interior spaces by manipulating planes to catch sunlight, to cast shadows and to allow the facade to play with sun movement as well as keeping spaces cool. A restrained palette of clay-inspired colours was selected for various wall planes to hint at spatial hierarchy, differentiate structures and architectural elements.
In several instances, the economy of construction was also suggested visually, with the main stair being a case-in-point. Each steel tread being self supporting, clad in teak for tactile warmth and feel, with the balustrading made up of square-section steel tubing and steel cables forming intermediates.
Local urban guidelines allow houses to be spaced as close as 4m from one another. Therefore all bedroom windows were carefully conceived to address the physical urban as well as climatic issues. Designed in dual-layers, large timber slating mounted externally offer natural ventilation, sun-shading and visual privacy. Aesthetically, the timber slating is also used to provide a 'soft' material to contrast and balance the hard painted external surfaces. Internally, aluminium framed glass window provide the ability to weather heavy local downpours and to seal bedrooms when air-conditioned. Deep window box fins provide further sun-shading and rain protection. The resulting added privacy from loomingly close neighbours are a welcome bonus. The cool balance is reversed at night, with the fins, eyebrows and slating diffusing and filtering the light coming from within, the house exuding a warm glow helping to enliven a suburban residential streetscape.
The client's brief for this house was simple. Functionally, to maximize usable area and to incorporate greenery. Aesthetically, to use travertine copiously as an architectural finish. Inspired by the Italian urban-scape during his travels, so too would travertine express this house.
The house is organised as two parallel blocks connected by a glass enclosed bridge. The separation between the two blocks allows daylight to stream down to basement spaces. Thick travertine walls and large overhangs are placed on the western side to limit heat gain from the harsh afternoon sun. The entry, living spaces and bedrooms are arranged longitudinally to take advantage of natural cross ventilation and daylight. In order to intensify land use without ending up with an imposing structure, the four storied house has one level sunk into the ground and the other three set away from the access road.
To accommodate as much green and 'blue' space as possible, the gardens and water bodies are spread throughout the house. The living and dining areas on the ground floor face a swimming pool and a fish pond. The basement's entertainment and guest rooms are open to the sky, with natural light and ventilation coming through a sunken moss garden courtyard. The third storey flat roof is both a recreational deck and a roof garden.
The arrival experience is orchestrated by several layers of travertine wall that suggest a tenuous threshold between the outside and the inside. The detailing is deliberately minimal and precise to enhance the simplicity of the massing and the juxtaposition of solidity and transparency. The narrow blocks that house the living area, the thick stone cladding, multiple levels of gardens and water bodies ensure that the house remains cool in the tropical environment, well ventilated and washed in soft daylight. The three dimensional composition of voids, layers and solids creates spaces for both quiet reflection and family interaction, something for each mood and moment.
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