A D Lab Pte Ltd Singapore

The Re-wrapped House

The Re-wrapped House
© Edward Hendricks

The Re-wrapped House

A D Lab

ARCHITECTS
A D Lab

BUILDING SURVEYOR
Lee Boon Haw Registered Surveyor

QUANTITY SURVEYOR
Ccl Chartered Surveyors Pte Ltd

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING
Epm Consultants

DESIGN TEAM
Warren Liu, Wu Yanling, Anna May Manrique, Najeeb Rahmat

CONSTRUCTION
Newell Builders Pte Ltd

PHOTOGRAPHS
Edward Hendricks

AREA
496 M²

YEAR
2013

LOCATION
Singapore

CATEGORY
Houses

Text description provided by architect.

This quiet low-rise cul-de-sac of semi detached houses at Jalan Binchang is similar to many in Singapore. Constructed mostly in the 1970’s, the pairs of two storey brick houses are now at the stage in their building lifespan where renovation is eminent.

The Re-wrapped House
© Edward Hendricks
The Re-wrapped House
© Edward Hendricks

The designers saw the development of the quaint neighborhood and its natural evolution as a main source of inspiration in the design of no. 67 Jalan Binchang. 

They brainstormed on how to enlarge and rejuvenate the existing semi detached house while maintaining a harmony with the existing built environment, the history of tropical residential buildings and with the natural environment.

The designers looked at the existing building as one would study a living organism that needed to adapt to a new environment.

The Re-wrapped House
© Edward Hendricks
The Re-wrapped House
© Edward Hendricks
The Re-wrapped House
© Edward Hendricks

Instead of demolishing its embedded history and reinventing it as something completely new, they decided to use its structure, its internal logic of organization and meaning as a starting point to the design, and to build upon this pre-existing pattern and structure to evolve it into a new form and space.

The architects find it important to study how space can evolve with time and with the changing conditions of the inhabitants so that the lifespan of construction can be increased.

Also as a way of reducing waste, savings cost on the project, and minimizing disruption to the neighbor’s house, the designers decided to retain the entire 2-storey semi detached house on the site.

The Re-wrapped House
© Edward Hendricks
The Re-wrapped House
© Edward Hendricks
The Re-wrapped House
© Edward Hendricks

Between this structure and a newly added 2 storey plus attic extension, a gap between the old and new structures was kept to bring light and wind through the house as well as to allow for the settlement of the new structure independently from the old.

The internal building’s logic of the front facing public room, rear facing services and private second storey of the existing house was maintained and carried over to the side extension.

In another effort to minimize material, as well as to link the two structures together, the designers used the 5th elevation of the house, the roof form, as the main façade of the old and new parts of the building.

The Re-wrapped House
© Edward Hendricks
The Re-wrapped House
© Edward Hendricks
The Re-wrapped House

 They bent and folded this form around the top and sides of the house. This roof was conceived as an evolution of the traditional sloping gable tropical roof and retains the history of the visual and function importance of the roof in the tropics.

The organically wrapping independent roof creates an insulating buffer between the harsh tropical sun and the internal and external living spaces below.

The Re-wrapped House
© Edward Hendricks
The Re-wrapped House
© Edward Hendricks

An example of resource efficacy in the design is the use of simple, locally available materials to construct a “breathing” wall out of organically organized painted brick on the North-East face of the building.

This multi-functional permeable wall helps to cut down noise from the nearby Category 3 road of Bishan Street 22 as well as allows the prevailing winds to flow through the building and to reduce heat in the house so as to lower the building’s dependency on air conditioning.

The Re-wrapped House
© Edward Hendricks
The Re-wrapped House
© Edward Hendricks

Aesthetically, this breathing wall creates beautiful patterns of light across the inner surfaces of the house, creating a calm and peaceful atmosphere where space is in harmony with its history, its climate and with the natural elements.


The Re-wrapped House
First Floor Plan
The Re-wrapped House
First Floor Plan
The Re-wrapped House
Second Floor Plan
The Re-wrapped House
Second Floor Plan
The Re-wrapped House
Third Floor Plan
The Re-wrapped House
Third Floor Plan


The Re-wrapped House
Section
The Re-wrapped House
Section


The Re-wrapped House
Elevation
The Re-wrapped House
Elevation
The Re-wrapped House
Elevation


The Re-wrapped House
Roof Floor Plan

The Re-wrapped House
Detail

A D Lab Pte Ltd Singapore
T +65 6346 0488 F +65 6346 3488
A D Lab Pte Ltd Singapore
National Design Centre (Annex Building), 111 Middle Road #03-03, 188969 Singapore