In Singapore, a bungalow with plenty of interesting geometrical forms

Most homeowners would think twice about purchasing an irregular plot, but Phillip Chew was unfazed. The trapezoidal land was larger than his former residence so he could build the lap pool he had always wanted.

The retiree, who lives here with his wife and two grown sons, engaged RT+Q Architects to craft the house. Having visited the homes of friends who had engaged the Singapore-based, award-winning firm, he was drawn by the company’s functional and detailed approach.

“I like the plot also because one side is elevated. Initially, I wanted to build a basement but in the end we did not as the pool would have to be raised, and I did not want that,” said Chew. He also appreciates that the higher part of the land abutted a cul-de-sac so there would not be many cars passing by. “It’s especially quiet in the evenings,” he shared.

Chew told the design team to keep the concept simple and make sure the spaces have regular shapes. “Some houses have interesting exteriors but inside, the rooms are odd-shaped and not usable,” he commented.

Helmed by TK Quek and Rene Tan, RT+Q Architects is prolific in Singapore, having designed more than 100 houses over the past 20 years. In 2023, the firm released its first monograph titled Rethinking the Tropical House, showcasing 29 of its inventive creations that are designed to work well with the local climate.

The design team, comprising the founders, senior associate Koh Sock Mui and architectural executive Ian Soon, placed two rectangular blocks in a perpendicular layout on the plot. “This allows for the creation of a front garden and rear pool area, both of which can be enjoyed from the living room and study, where the owners work or study from home alongside their two sons. Also, the house was developed during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in 2020 so a good study area was foremost in most clients’ minds, including Phillip,” said Tan.

A moon gate marks a formal entry between the car porch and front garden. A stepped water feature follows the sloped topography. “The long, linear water feature visually and aurally guides one from the driveway up the entrance steps towards the door. Thereafter, it runs parallel to the passage through the vaulted entrance door where inside, it demarcates the threshold to the living room and study,” described Tan.

On the other side of the threshold are the dining room, dry and wet kitchens, and a private sitting area. “This formal intersection is marked by a double-height space, traversed by a steel bridge at the second storey,” said Tan. The bridge links three bedrooms to the master bedroom wing on the second storey. Gaps in the architecture reveal this bridge to the exterior, expressing the circulatory workings of the home. Timber screens on the second storey provide privacy in the bedrooms for the family from the street.

On the attic are a guest bedroom and an entertainment space with a balcony that looks out to green views of the neighbourhood. The owner shared that his sons sometimes have barbecues with their friends there while enjoying the breeze and view. He added that the attic level was designed such that it can be used as a small apartment on its own should one of his sons decide to start a family and live here in the future.

On a regular day, the dry kitchen on the first storey functions as a casual breakfast spot and a bar area by night. “A set of sliding glass doors opens the space towards the swimming pool. A ‘V’ profile in the ceiling, finished in Venetian stucco, hints at the presence of a wet kitchen behind the timber-finished walls of the dry kitchen,” Tan pointed out. The wet kitchen is commodious and completed with a hardworking hob from WOLF, as requested by the elder son who enjoys cooking when his friends visit.

The sloped ceiling design is a way of adding interest to such utilitarian areas. Tan describes the house’s aesthetics as being “Modernist in its outlook but underpinned by a Baroque approach to the shaping of spaces.”

Externally, the massing of the two blocks is lightened with apertures in the facades, giving the volumes a suspended appearance and brightening the interiors. “The house is finished in natural materials both inside and outside. The exterior is clad in yellow granite flooring and the pool deck covered in teak timber. The facade of the building is predominantly fairfaced concrete. Equitone panels on the end walls contrast with corten steel-lookalike tiles on other walls,” Tan shared. On the inside is a mixture of marble, teak and tiles.

The living room and study are accented with a bright tangerine colour in the joinery. Throughout the house, the design team incorporated small, delightful moments such as this. For example, the powder room and master bathroom have unusual shapes. “The powder room is somewhat ‘landlocked’ and space had to be carved out of residual spaces for the shower. Hence, the challenge was to create something unique out of ‘leftover’ space,” Tan explained.

He took inspiration from ship cabins “where rounded corners ease the tightness of space.” The shower is rounded both in plan and three dimensionally. It is finished entirely in white mosaics. “This provides a clean contrast to the statement-making marble wall in another part of the powder room as well as the customised sink,” Tan explained.

This marble features unique moss-coloured veins that add colour to the space without the need for extraneous decorative elements. The white mosaics also give the shower a monolithic, futuristic character.

The oval-shaped master bathroom features two sinks and water closets, positioned mirror image across an operable window in the centre that draws attention to verdant views outside while letting in natural light and ventilation.

“The shape of the master bedroom is inspired by the Baroque approach to geometry and symmetry in shaping and creating unique spaces. The central vanity is circular with customised circular sinks carved out of Sofitel gold marble,” Tan elaborated.

Another circular element comes in the form of an outdoor spiral staircase made from porous stainless steel that links the master bedroom to the pool below, providing quick access for Chew and his wife to their daily swimming workout without having to detour to the main staircase.

“It also lends a sculptural quality to what is probably the most visible corner of the plot, which faces the road junction,” Tan highlighted. Extending the sides and roof of the block beyond the window line creates a canopy, which shelters the staircase and deck from sun and rain to a certain extent.

The main staircase inside the house also has perforated metal accents alongside the main timber thread and riser component. Below the staircase is a curious-looking round door leading, surprisingly, to the back of house.

“We wanted to activate the often-overlooked dead space below a staircase landing by puncturing through the wall and creating a shortcut to the serviced areas behind. This has the added advantage of opening the central space up to the greenery of the side garden behind the staircase,” said Tan.

This idea of ‘apertures’ is carried through in other parts of the house, such as the powder room, and living room-cum-study partition. It allows for air flow and spatial connection “so that even enclosed spaces are not completely isolated from the rest of the house”.

In the latter, this refers to two doors between the living area and study to create a fluid spatial loop. The same flow is mirrored between the dry and wet kitchen. This reflects the importance of a functional house, or the house as a “machine for living” as quoted by the famous architect Le Corbusier.

Even the garden was designed as such – functional and a visual respite. Said Tan: “The landscaping was designed to screen views of a neighbouring substation as well as overcome privacy concerns due to the steeply sloped road behind. Thus, the edges of the plot are lushly planted. Trees with bright flowers reflect the owners’ preference for vibrant colour while care was taken to specify plants with overhanging leaves to soften the planters’ edges.”

This, he shares, is his favourite part of the entire home, “stepping through the moon gate at the driveway and seeing the thriving trees in the front garden, accompanied by the sound of running water. Like most projects, we conceived of the gardens and patios first before the actual house; in this case, we gave the best part of the land to the pool and courtyard.”

Executive editor: Boon Tan; senior producer: Lindsay Jialin; video: Lawrence Ong/VOTMO