Gallop House
GALLOP HOUSE
Formwerkz Architects
PHOTOS
Albert Lim K.s.
PROJECT TEAM
Alicia Lazzaroni
YEAR
2014
LOCATION
Singapore
CATEGORY
Residential › Private House
Located off a quiet cul-de-sac of Gallop Park, the Gallop House sits on 19000sqft of land.
In addition to accommodating a family of five, the house comes with guest rooms for the extended family as well as generous spaces for entertaining and hosting parties of various scales.
With the intention of freeing land for an expansive front lawn and creating privacy from the prying eyes of adjacent neighbours, the Gallop House is conceived as a singular, linear volume which stretches across the entire elevated rear boundary.
The front lawn is framed against a backdrop of mature trees and serves as the focal view from the house. Communal living spaces and family bedrooms are elevated to leverage on scenic garden views within the privacy of one’s own compound.
From the street, the massing strategy of the house is reminiscent of historic Black and White Bungalows; where a long driveway leads to the main house sited on a higher plateau, and overlooks the front garden.
Shielded interior spaces, prompted by western exposure along the house’s main axis and frontage, feature strongly in the design of the Gallop House.
All spaces in the basement and first storey are recessed and shaded by deep verandah spaces, while a layer of timber slates protect bedroom balconies from harsh direct sunlight within the upper volume.
The timber slates extend to envelop the mono-pitched metal roof and introduce a ventilated barrier which passively cools the house.
Internally, staggered double volume spaces connect the upper floors and allow the house to be ventilated effectively by stack effect.
An elevated swimming pool, which seemingly extends indefinitely into the landscape and horizon, is placed perpendicular to the main house and attempts to connect to the existing linear treehouse designed by Professor Joseph Lim of the National University of Singapore.
Spatially, the single storey pool block delineates the winding driveway from the front lawn.
A porte-cochere sits at the base of the pool block and links to an external staircase; creating the formal entrance and ascent into the house.
