Houzz Tour: A House Designed by its Architect-Owner For His Artist Wife
What kinds of houses do architects build for themselves? Archifest 2019 took us inside CIAP Architects' unique solution
Being married to a ceramic artist, Theodore Chan of CIAP Architects had to fulfil not just his own artistic vision but his wife’s as well. After all, the entire ground floor is her atelier and gallery space with a very open foyer. He compares the home’s architecture to the wabi sabi philosophy of her work where authenticity of materials and contentment with simplicity is the focus.
Spilt decking offers good communication of spaces and as a result of this, a forfeit of privacy which is of little concern when the only occupants are the couple.
The staggered levels contain in this order: entrance and ceramic atelier, kitchen and casual dining, living room and formal dining, guest bedroom, master bedroom and study. There are no standard concrete walls with the exception of the bathrooms.
The architects cite Japanese self-taught architect Tadao Ando’s exquisitely crafted concrete as inspiration. In fact, they call the wall on the right the “Tadao Ando wall” and the one on the left the “Ah Huat wall” after the local carpenter and rain tree wood champion he worked with. This passionate carpenter culled the best timber from his stockpile of rain trees cut down by National Parks to assemble the three-storey high timber wall.
The staggered levels contain in this order: entrance and ceramic atelier, kitchen and casual dining, living room and formal dining, guest bedroom, master bedroom and study. There are no standard concrete walls with the exception of the bathrooms.
The architects cite Japanese self-taught architect Tadao Ando’s exquisitely crafted concrete as inspiration. In fact, they call the wall on the right the “Tadao Ando wall” and the one on the left the “Ah Huat wall” after the local carpenter and rain tree wood champion he worked with. This passionate carpenter culled the best timber from his stockpile of rain trees cut down by National Parks to assemble the three-storey high timber wall.
The varied wood tones of the timber wall is matched by the rusty patina of Corten or weathering steel (on the right). A bathroom and household shelter are located behind this cladding.
When the volume is so apparent and transparent, traditional and bulky construction methods will not do. Steel formwork an efficient and versatile structural decking and ceiling system for concrete slabs commonly used for erecting industrial buildings was employed.
The architects also chose this fast construction method for the “honest architecture” it brings where the bolts in the steel beams are literally visible.
“The ceilings are only used to cover-up large mechanical and electrical systems devices; the rest is an expression of the structural steel decking that is an integral part of the structural floor,” says Chan.
There’s an emphasis on the elemental where electrical conduits and even galvanised steel cable trays are visible.
The architects also chose this fast construction method for the “honest architecture” it brings where the bolts in the steel beams are literally visible.
“The ceilings are only used to cover-up large mechanical and electrical systems devices; the rest is an expression of the structural steel decking that is an integral part of the structural floor,” says Chan.
There’s an emphasis on the elemental where electrical conduits and even galvanised steel cable trays are visible.
Though the living room and dining room are highly visible to the neighbours across the street and west-facing, a sequence of layers brings privacy and mitigates the heat. The facade is a timber trellis and behind this is coated glass and finally, glare-reducing blinds.
Concrete formwork does double duty as structure and surface.
Chan’s favourite spot is the “cafe as it is the breeziest part of the house and also the most communal. From there, you can get enjoy an overview of the whole house as it is next to the ventilating atrium stack.”
This towering tree was the one thing retained from the old house as it was planted by Sng’s father when the couple bought the house 35 years ago. An oculus in the car port ceiling (see first image) offers a view of the tree.
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Tell us:
What did you find most striking about this home? Share in the Comments below.
Read more:
Bangalore Houzz: Architect’s Home Embraces an Earthy Material Palette
11 Architects’ Home Offices From Around the World
Tell us:
What did you find most striking about this home? Share in the Comments below.
Who lives here: Architect Theodore Chan and potter and ceramic artist Delphine Sng
Location: Serangoon Gardens
Size: 370 square metres (3,983 square feet) built-up on 170 square metres of land (1,830 square feet)
Project duration: 12 months (design and approval); 15 months (construction)
Designers: CIAP Architects and MJKY Architects
When an architect designs their own house, it is a chance to experiment with ideas and develop their personal style free of the constraints of a client brief. When an architect designs their own house with another architect – a former student at that – the result is an unconventional building and a vision of innovative solutions to typical design problems.
As a firm, CIAP Architects designs large-scale projects like institutions, hospitals, private apartments and commercial buildings so for his own home, Theodore called upon Micki Chua of MJKY Architects.
Though the couple had owned the land for 35 years, the opportunity to design and build a house never presented itself till recently. Chan likens this rare opportunity to “a doctor taking his own medicine”.
Refusing to let the typical typology of an intermediate terrace house fence in the design, Chua and he threw out the idea of a central stairwell.
“Terrace houses only have two facades – the front and the back. We had to solve the riddle of how to bring in light and ventilation,” says Chan.
The solution was to utilise the entire width of the house without carving out a stair core hence the split levels with open stairs against the two party walls. “The 6 square-metre-space which would have been the landing has now been thrown back into the plane,” he explains.
The air well or centre of the building with an openable skylight at the top is instrumental in cooling the house passively.
“The most important element in tropical living is the roof. The atrium stack, inspired by shophouse architecture, is a method of passive cooling as warm air is naturally drawn upwards and dispelled through ventilation gaps in the roof,” Chan says.
Another experimental idea that solves a typical design issue is the water feature that runs the length of the house. This is the longkang (the Malay word for ‘drain’) that would normally be run under a building to take rainwater runoff to the public drain in front of the house.