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From a futuristic temple-like house flanked by two Egyptian Anubis god statues to another featuring a wavy rooftop garden with large overhanging eaves, eye-catching residences are plentiful in Sentosa Cove. However, one Sentosa Cove house stands out with its distinctive grid-like facade created by architect Lim Shing Hui.
3D Grid-like facade
The founder of L Architects eschewed conventional flat exteriors, instead crafting a 3D-like volumetric facade for her client's two-storey Sentosa Cove house. "A facade is often a 2D panel like metal or stone cladding. But for this home, I experimented with lightweight aluminium hollow sections to form a grid-like screen," explains Ms. Lim.
Eye-catching Sentosa Cove house
The grid-like facade appears from afar as stacked metal squares, some towering above the actual building. Enhancing this eye-catching feature, 21 planter boxes filled with sun-loving tropicals like Monstera, phyllanthus and vernonia elliptica adorn some of the grid squares. The draping foliage both colors the facade and provides sun-shading to cool the interior.
Ms Lim explains that the hollow aluminium frames also hide the automated watering and drainage systems for the plants and electrical wiring for the planter boxes.
Interior of Sentosa Cove house
With the distinctive grid-like facade of the Sentosa Cove house complete, Ms Lim went on to redesign the interiors. The family had been living there for close to a decade, and felt it was time for a renovation for several reasons. For one, the home was starting to show its age, and the family felt that the layout of the spaces could be improved.
Dry and wet kitchens
Top of the list was changing the layout of the kitchen. Previously, the wet and dry kitchens were in different areas of the home, but now they are next to each other for a better workflow. “This is especially important, since the family loves to entertain a lot,” says Ms Lim.
Outdoor deck and pool
She also introduced a new family room on the ground floor and an outdoor deck beside the pool. The latter overlooks the Sentosa Cove waterway; unsurprisingly, this is where the family likes to have dinner.
“The space was designed as a chill-out area by the pool, but it is heartening to hear that it has indirectly drawn the family to enjoy the outdoor space more frequently,” adds Ms Lim.
Future-proofing the house
For the lady of the house, Ms Lim future-proofed her bathroom, ensuring that the space would be wide enough to fit in a wheelchair if needed. The new addition of a skylight also brightens up the bathroom.
To create that uniform feel, Ms Lim used only a handful of materials, such as black forest marble, oak flooring and light grey wallpaper. Keen-eyed visitors will notice that the dining table, the feature panel in the living room, kitchen countertop and headboard in the bedroom are all of the same natural stone.
Though initially uncertain about a "living" grid-like facade, the family came to appreciate how it enhances aesthetics while providing cooling shade - giving desirable green views to all rooms in their distinctive Sentosa Cove house.
"The living grid injects more value into the property where all the rooms now have desirable views be it the waterfront or the hanging garden," notes Ms. Lim of the striking tropical plant-adorned grid-like facade.
Photos by Finbarr Fallon. This story was first published in The Business Times in 2019.