We were looking for a forever home, but at the same time, we
wanted something configurable for future changes in lifestyle. We both really wanted a home that was both atmospherical and also functional at the same time. Hi, I am Brian, and I
work in architecture. I'm Audrey, and I work in interior design. This is a 4-room HDB in Whampoa, on the outskirts of the Toa Payoh area, and it's approximately 1,001 sqft, and we've been staying
here for two months. The development is 23 years old, and it's located in a
quiet corner of this area. I grew up in the
surrounding neighbourhood, and Audrey stayed around this
area as well in the past. The flat itself was honestly in need of a complete overhaul from top to bottom, as there were at least
two homeowners previously. It wasn't really renovated
when the owners changed it. It was very built up initially, and it was pretty difficult
to see the full extent of the actual space. For this project, we titled it "Bento", due to the way we wanted certain
things to come into play. So for one, we wanted a large kitchen, and secondly, we wanted
this variety and modularity that came with the house. Funny thing is, we actually already started planning on the layout even before we viewed
or offered for the unit. So when we saw the listing, we started sketching
on the layout already, because we saw the full
potential of the place for multiple scenarios and
other options as we went around, to see that it was mostly
more for confirmation bias. All the HDB flats during this period, I find that for the layout plans, they tend to be the most fun to work with based on past projects we've
done with similar layouts. This is mostly due to the
flexibility that it offers. One of the main draws of this HDB block is the corridor layout, which in turn influences the
layout of the flat itself, which means that windows often
flank both ends of the flat. This creates opportunity to create spaces that open to outside from both ends. Something that we like to
do when we design a space is try to capture a continuous
line of sight across it. In this case, from the entrance, you're able to see the end of the house, so it makes the space feel
a lot larger than it seems. Even if we were to enclose
a study in the future as a third bedroom, this line of sight is still something that's
present in the space to help maintain its spaciousness. due to the way the facade is like, the columns don't eat
into the living space and are not as disruptive; as such, you have this very nice wide to narrow to wide kind of space that changes as you move along. We kind of like this HDB block in terms of the colour scheme
and the colour palettes. We noticed that there's a
nice, soft lilac colour, but also the main colour
is this warm white, almost soft beige. What we decided to do is we painted the interior of the house matching to that soft
beige, warm white tone; that brings nice warmth
into the house as well. Something that we really
liked about the place is also the level that we're
at is just above the tree line, so we have a nice mix of
heights and also greenery. For the entry, we wanted to create a warm and
cosy atmosphere to enter into. That's why we use terracotta
tiles on the floor. The curved glass block serves as a way to create anticipation upon entry by partially obscuring
the full view outside and the main space of the house, refracting the light and colour from the surroundings outside. We really wanted the dining room and the kitchen to be the main heart and feature of the home. The dining room itself is quite large. It can sit eight people, up to 10 people, in one big communal table. For the dining table itself, we had it customised as
there weren't many tables that's in this particular
size that we wanted, so that we can fit more
people to sit into this space. One of our favourite
features of this space is the Flos 365 wall lamp. It's been something
I've been thinking about for a good seven years now since I first saw it used in the house when I was interning back in university. So it's something I immediately knew I wanted to fit into the space. We also love how the light
floods into the space in the morning through the windows here. And at night It captures the atmosphere of a late-night diner but
with the warmth of a home. For the breakfast table itself, we designed it because Brian
is a coffee enthusiast; having a space for him to make coffee for us both in the morning, having that as a nice morning ritual is something that I look
forward to every day. Also, while having breakfast, while looking at the nice view of the neighbourhood blocks around us. Plants are something Audrey loves. So you see them across the space as little pockets of greenery, contrast nicely with the warm tones. We added a curtain as one of the elements to separate the living space
as well as the kitchen space. We wanted something that's not too solid, so that's why we came about to
this solution of the curtain. And it also has a purpose, to block off the smell when
we're cooking in the kitchen, as well as block off the
aircon flowing in and out from the space to the
kitchen and the living space. We wanted an open kitchen due to the spaciousness and
life it brought into the space, compared to one that
is sited at the corner. The long counter spaces flank
both sides of the corridor. It helps to form a connection
between both ends of the flat. And it also provides a much
larger working space for us while we meal prep. The excess counter space also compensates for taking out the usual top-hung cabinets in order to give us more head space given the low ceiling height of HDB flats. In exchange, we had an open shelf for us to display some of
our handmade pottery pieces and to conceal counter light. For the kitchen counter, we chose to go for a stainless steel top, as it was fuss-free maintenance-wise. And if we had to, it was possible to work directly off the space as well. For example, if you make like
pasta dough and all that. The chamfered detail
was done at the upturn, at the backsplash to make the maintenance
even more convenient. A flat bar detail also sits
at the edge of the counter, which doubles as a towel
bar and hanging rack, and also a little detail to prevent your clothes
from soaking up water while leaning at the sink. The little stainless steel dots
provide a playful indicator on the pulls of the doors and drawers. For the backsplash itself, We used a very subtle but beautiful tile designed by a Spanish
designer we liked from Mutina, which had a fine lace-like detail, which hints itself in daylight, but shows its intricacy
across the backsplash at night under the glow of the counter light. By bringing the kitchen
out into the main area, one, this gives us is the opportunity to shift the common room to
the other end of the house. By doing this, we create a kind of privacy for both common room and master bedroom. It's quite suitable for
multi-generational living should we like have kids
in the future, for example. We kept the living room
and the study room opened and filled with more loose furniture in order to maintain the flexibility, in case, in the future, if you wanna expand it to
a second common bedroom. But at the same time, this
allows for a flow of air throughout the house. In these two spaces, we decided to fill it with
objects rather than built-ins. Like a memory palace, it's a place that we use to keep things
that we hold close to us, both precious and odd. Something like the prototype for one of Office Of_'s first few projects: a stool from a lucky draw at an industry event we both went to. Also, our shared collection of books and other bits and pieces of our lives. So the circular object here is actually a tabletop, one of the few selected installations for the Singapore Pavilion for the Venice Biennale back in 2021. The theme was "To Gather", and we decided to gather
and encase the smells across Singapore in resin. So what you see in it are elements of different smells across the islands, from the smell of chocolate you encounter at Boon Lay for example, or the salted and preserved goods in Victoria Wholesale Market. You also have like incense sticks, which is from Chinatown as well. Unfortunately, we couldn't
go to Italy due to COVID, but I guess the tabletop went there. We planned our study room for flexibility in the future, in case if we wanna convert this into a second common room for kids. We like to display some of
our hobbies and memorabilia as art displays on the walls: like Brian's paddle from his
canoeing days, his paintings, and my batik and loom work. The master is actually planned out in a very practical way to conceal a lot of pipework and cabling behind the carpentry. But even then, we tried
to introduce elements to make it a cosy nest at night. Oddly, the bathrooms are
like a very key component of the house itself, and
helps to get it to function. The floor is an extremely
rough textured tile to mimic the sand and stone of a riverbed, while overhead a soft
and translucent ceiling, reminiscent of a soft sky, changes from a bright white in the morning to a very warm and dim
orange light at night, playing with the circadian
rhythm of our bodies to either set an atmosphere
of crisp freshness or an oozing warmth. Home to me should be something like a space that is moulded and formed by the activities of
the people living in it. I really like our home, because it's like a form of
expression of who we are, both in function and also in aesthetics. For myself, the home is
a subconscious expression of the person living in it. It's something that I hope to bring out when I design for others as well.
