Make mine light and breezy
A conservation terrace house in Blair Road and a bungalow in East Coast are among the eight Architectural Heritage Award recipients this year. TAY SUAN CHIANG checks in on them
When the owner of this conservation terrace house in 55 Blair Road first laid eyes on it a few years ago, she was taken in by the airwell in the centre of the unit and the volume of space it offered.
But there were some things she hated. 'I disliked that the original ground floor looked like a bowling alley - long, narrow and very dark,' says the owner, a British expatriate-turned-Singapore permanent resident who declines to be named.
The two-storey house, believed to be built between 1900 and 1940, was last renovated in 1997. As it was meant to be tenanted out, the previous owner put in four bedrooms.
The new owner paid $1.5 million for the renovations which started in 2008 and took 10 months to complete.
Her brief to the architectural team at Ong & Ong was to bring maximum light into the long and dark space, improve ventilation and air flow, and update the house to meet current needs.
Before the renovations could start, however, there was a sticky problem the team had to resolve: When the owner took over the house, which sits on 1,625 sq ft of land, she discovered a sticky liquid oozing through the ceiling.
The roof was stripped to find the source, which turned out to be a beehive leaking honey. The hive was removed, the roof reinstated and renovations began.
The house previously had a small courtyard - to allow for more living space - unlike the tradition of such houses having large courtyards.
In its latest transformation, the architects made the open-air courtyard bigger, with space for a plunge pool as well. The bigger courtyard also boosts ventilation and allows more light to enter the house.
The owner's bedroom on the second storey has a bathroom that is cantilevered and overlooks the pool below.
On this floor, too, is the study-family room, with built-in shelves on both sides of the room to form a mini library.
Two ensuite bedrooms in a rear block are for the maid and guests. While the interiors were given a new look, the facade had to be retained under conservation rules. Where necessary, the facade was retouched and repainted.
The owner says: 'It is an easy house to live in. There is hidden storage everywhere, allowing us to maintain the house as it was meant to be: simple and elegant.'
taysc@sph.com.sg
The master bedroom is cantilevered over the plunge pool (above). Aluminium-cladded walls flank the central courtyard, helping to cast more light into the house. Slide open the glass partitions of the dining area-cum-kitchen as well as the living area, and the entire ground floor becomes a single, long space for entertaining. -- PHOTO: ONG & ONG
THE ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE AWARDS
Organised by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, the Architectural Heritage Awards honour well-restored monuments and conservation buildings.
This year's eight winners include a cluster of shophouses turned into home-cum-office spaces, entertainment hotspot StJames Power Station and terrace houses in Spottiswoode Park Road and Cairnhill Road.
The awards, which began in 1995, are given to the buildings' owners, architects, engineers and principal contractors. There is no prize money. A total of 100 projects have received the awards since their launch.
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