House at Namly Place

HOUSE AT NAMLY PLACE

Designshop

House at Namly Place
© Aaron Pocock

CATEGORY
Houses

LOCATION
Singapore

ARCHITECTS
Designshop

MANUFACTURER
Lutron, Miton Cucine, SONOS, Fatt Chan

YEAR
2017

CONTRACTOR
Hock Ming Construction Pte Ltd

AREA
565

C&S CONSULTANT
WRX Engineers Pte Ltd

LANDSCAPE
Nyee Phoe Flower Garden Pte Ltd

EXTERIOR FINISHING
Cherry Stone Pte Ltd & SECHS Engineering Pte Ltd

INTERIOR FINISHING
Cherry Stone Pte Ltd & Rice Fields Pte Ltd

House at Namly Place
© FRAME


The brief for this long and narrow site was to design a semi-detached house for a multi-generational family.

The key challenge was that within the site boundary, a 5m-tall retaining wall juts into the length of the site by a third, drastically limiting the buildable area.

House at Namly Place
© Aaron Pocock
House at Namly Place
© Aaron Pocock

Furthermore, the needs of the big family – a couple, their 4 children and 1 grandmother demanded that living spaces be maximised.

Architecturally, we sought to address the Client’s needs for a big house by embedding the building into the site – to build over the existing retaining wall with minimal impact to its structural integrity.

House at Namly Place
© Aaron Pocock
House at Namly Place
© Aaron Pocock
House at Namly Place
© Aaron Pocock

This had to be done sensitively as the retaining wall supports a slope abutting a neighboring house perched 20m-tall over the back of the site.

Through a combined effort of architectural strategy and engineering innovation, there were opportunities for introducing meaningful garden spaces at every level.

House at Namly Place
© Aaron Pocock
House at Namly Place
© Aaron Pocock
House at Namly Place
© Aaron Pocock
House at Namly Place
© Aaron Pocock

These garden spaces are especially private as they enjoy the cross breeze through the vista across the backyards of the row of neighboring houses which were all built away from the original retaining walls.

Due to the close proximity to the neighboring plots, a balance between privacy and openness had to be achieved.

House at Namly Place
© Aaron Pocock
House at Namly Place
© Aaron Pocock

This weighed into our consideration, and screens were introduced to wrap around the private areas at the second story.

Externally, rustic yellow granite was paired with the thick EIFS screens to convey the aesthetic of gravitas and create a sense of privacy.

House at Namly Place
© Aaron Pocock
House at Namly Place
© Aaron Pocock

Though functional, these screens are decidedly ornamental, setting the Namly house apart from its neighbors.


House at Namly Place
Sketch 1
House at Namly Place
Sketch 2


House at Namly Place
Basement Plan
House at Namly Place
Attic Plan
House at Namly Place
First Floor Plan
House at Namly Place
Second Floor Plan


House at Namly Place
Diagram 1
House at Namly Place
Diagram 2
House at Namly Place
Section