Question: Our intermediate terrace house is so long, the centre section is always dim. We have to keep the lights on in the kitchen all day. How can we improve the lighting?

Answer: Natural light can be brought into the centre of a terrace house, but the solution is rather costly. You would have to remove a narrow section of the roofing to create a light well in the centre or at the side of the house, along one of the party walls, and take out a section of the second floor so the light penetrates to your kitchen on the ground level.

The renovation would be complex - involving hacking and reinforcing of the roof and floor’s structural beams, but the results would be well worth the effort.

In this shophouse home renovated by Aamer Architects, the width in the back section of the intermediate terrace was not maximised, with a floorplan stretching from one party wall to the other. Leaving a narrow gap right up to the roof-line not only meant better light and air circulation for every level, but also the opportunity to create tiers of eye-catching balcony decks for each bedroom and a lovely, cascading garden of flowering creepers.

Credit: photography edward hendricks/ci&a design aamer architects