House Tour: A private oasis with a living facade at House of Trees by L Architects

L Architects was a big winner of this year's Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA) Architectural Design Awards, taking home three awards for its two projects: A Brick & Mortar Shop, which won the highest accolade, Design of the Year award, and Design award in the Interior Architecture category; and the House of Trees, which took home Merit Award in the Residential Projects category.

When faced with an undesirable context, the biggest challenge for L Architects founder Lim Shing Hui was how to bring that spirit of respite, liveability and tranquillity into the house.

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Photo by Khoo Guo Jie

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She asked herself, "Can we create a great indoor space without having a great outdoor?"

Her take was to focus on "a design strategy that could better respond to the undesirable surroundings rather than create a hermetic shell". 

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Photo by Finbarr Fallon

Trees and plants thrive with abundant rain and sunlight in the tropics.

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Photo by Khoo Guo Jie

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Photo by Khoo Guo Jie

They also provide excellent shields from the eastern and western sun, while offering pleasant views.

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Photo by Finbarr Fallon

This rationale prompted her to use nature as a building material to form a porous, living facade.

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Photo by Finbarr Fallon

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This re-contextualising of the urban surroundings through the use of deep, occupiable, lush landscaped balconies was what the jury appreciated. 

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Photo by Khoo Guo Jie

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Photo by Khoo Guo Jie