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The two houses, which remained empty for twenty years, became known by the graffiti in one of the facade “People could leave here”. The new owner planned to build 9 apartments for rental.
As the internal structure of the building didn’t exist, we decided to take a radical action that would result suitable for its new purpose. All that remained standing of these old houses were its outer walls, now preserved and renovated.
Moreover, the project, instead of using the enclosed shape that the old facades seemed to suggest, we chose to create, inside the facades, four isolates volumes with different shapes, which make up four small towers where the apartments overlap. Each apartment is close to 50Sqm, and consists in two floors with a living room/ kitchen and a bedroom and Bathroom included.
When dissociating the four floors of the new interior facade from the two old facades, the project, allowed not destroying the scale of urban memory. The two levels of existing windows hide now four new floors, where the existing facade plays the role function of a filter between the apartments and the busy street. We tried to create a tension between a structured geometry from the existing object (old facade) and a new object of clear rules, independent, which merges with the new towers.
The access to the apartments is done by an open-air gallery that leads to a common staircase in the outside.
Beside, small-scale shifts create relational diversity among the apartments, between the living spaces and the terrace and also among the inhabitants, who benefit from interacting with these areas. Altogether the apartments form a single building, an environment that creates spaces for human relationships and interactions with the city itself.
Why go?
Because Singapore is celebrating its 50 year of independence with parties and openings aplenty (singapore50.sg).
Come Q3-Q4, the six-starred Patina Capitol Singapore – with architecture by Pritzker Prize Laureate Richard Meier and interior by Jaya Ibrahim – will debut in two restored heritage buildings in the Civic District.
And in November, the National Gallery will open on the grounds of the city’s most iconic buildings – the former Supreme Court and City Hall; with a combined floor area of 60,000 sqm, it will house the largest collection of South-east Asian art in the world.
Discover for yourself what life is like in one of the world’s most affluent cities. While S$500 a pop meals are not hard to find, it’s completely possible to eat like a king without spending more than S$5 to S$10 per head.
Witness how the locals make the most of their lives in a city known for its draconian laws and apparently “unhappy” citizens. It will change the way you view the little red dot.
When to go
Weather-wise, there is no “best time” to visit Singapore. Known for its year-round warm and humid weather, the city’s temperature hovers between 24C in the mornings and evenings and about 31C in the daytime. From November to January, the temperature dips slightly with the onset of the wet monsoon season during which it’s wise to pack a brolly.
Singapore hosts the world’s only Formula 1 night race, and come September the city revs up for the event (September 18 – 20, 2015). Last-minute hotel reservations can be challenging at this time, especially if you want to stay in a hotel sited along the Grand Prix track, but advance planning will stand you in good stead.
Where to go
To see the real Singapore, veer off the beaten path to the newly gentrified Tiong Bahru. Start with local breakfast of mee pok (flat egg noodles) at 70-year-old stall, Hua Bee. Then, proceed to Tiong Bahru market to observe how Singaporeans procure groceries in the morning. Break for coffee at 40 Hands, peruse some books at hipster bookstore, Books Actually, and when hunger strikes, head back to the market for wallet-friendly hawker fare. If you’re in the vicinity in the evening and want to splash on a good meal, head back to Hua Bee. By night, the coffee shop morphs into Bincho, a modern yakitori joint.
Know before you go
Local laws and etiquette
Singapore is known as a fine city and for good reason – you can be fined, and even caned or jailed – for breaking seemingly draconian laws that the locals have learnt to live with.
Since 1992, when a vandal stuck a piece of chewing gum on an MRT door sensor that resulted in the disruption of train services, the sale and import of chewing gum has been banned in Singapore. You can still chew gum, but be careful to dispose of it properly.
Smoking is banned in restaurants, cinemas and all indoor public spaces. Since mid-2013, the ban has been extended to include public spaces such as overhead bridges and outdoor hospital compounds.
Vandalism is also a punishable offence and so are littering, spitting, jaywalking and failure to flush the lavatory.
Visas
Foreigners holding travel documents from certain countries require a visa to enter Singapore. See the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority website (ica.gov.sg).
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Duplex in Gracia is a home designed by Zest Architecture. It is located in Barcelona, Spain. Duplex in Gracia by Zest Architecture: “In a building in Gracia, where the owners owned two apartments one on top of the other, ZEST was asked to create a spacious, welcoming family home. The brief included the creation of both a dedicated music room, suitable for small concerts of chamber music, and a library..
Extremely narrow, long properties have spawned a special kind of building in this quarter: working class homes with lengthwise terraces along the street, sloping roofs and longhouse annexes that reach far into the gardens, resembling railway carriages in a row.
This existing Typology was our model here, further developed and built in its own, revamped style. on a space of 6 by 22 metres, there are a children’s house, a communal building and a parents’ house next to each other, shaped into one volume.
While the entire ground floor can be used communally and a small office unit added, all of the private rooms are situated in the two upper floors, some of which with little roof galleries. The centre of family life remains the elongated living and dining room facing the garden, with 60 square metres on split levels and with varying ceiling heights. Constructed in solid, permanent materials with insulating bricks and oak window frames, it meets low-energy-Standard.
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Sig Nordal 