House Tour: Two-storey 4,850sqf Bukit Timah bungalow with new edgy cantilever look by Formwerkz Architects
By Young Lim -
With many of the landed properties in Singapore built shortly after the war, there comes a time where they require renovation works in the form of additions and alterations or even an entire overhaul. Such is the case with this post-war property, situated near Linden Drive, that's built in the seventies.
The homeowners approached local architecture studio Formwerkz to give their existing bungalow a new look, as well as to extend the spaces within. The team, comprising of Alan Tay, Iskandar Idris, Ming Hui, Xue Zhen, proposed a new block at the rear and a lap pool along the side boundary. The new rear extension sits on higher ground than the pool with its upper volume cantilevering over the deck.
“From the beginning, we wanted to retained as much of the existing house, working around it and use it as part of the new narrative. It became a dichotomy of old and new, a story of a recent past and contemporary aspirations. The dialogue between the old and new formed the framework for the design,” says Alan Tay.
The existing high ceiling dining hall is converted to a atrium that bridged the existing house with the new block at the rear. This is the heart of the project where it bridges both physically and spatially, the old house and the new extension.
On the upper floor, a wire mesh steel bridge negotiates the level difference between the existing house and the new extension. The H-shaped massing encloses two intimate courtyard spaces that together with the atrium are spaces of greatest tension between the old and new.
The extensive use of boardformed concrete contrasts interestingly with the original materials of the house.
The walkway connecting the original house to the extension block provides shade for the outdoor living areas.
From the street level, one can see the distinction between the orginal postwar building out front and the new wing behind.
Through innovative use of land area and by optimising the layout of the interiors, the architect studio successfully breathed new life into this iconic structure.
Photos Albert Lim