新加坡Khai House

The structure, on a corner plot, is of two interlocking forms at right angles to each other, and within this, activity spaces are separated from service spaces by levels – bedrooms on the upper level, activity areas on ground level and servants’ quarters in the basement.

The approach to spatial definition is most vigorously pursued at ground level, where there are spaces but with no trace of rooms bounded by walls. Physically, the delineation between the inside and the outside is blurred by the combination of stone, wood, concrete, and timber screens that gently prompts the eye to carve out notional spaces and enclosures in what is an open ground plan without walls or a clear boundary line.

The garden design pays careful attention to the various framed views through the ground floor, such as in a vertical landscape wall next to the pool used as a device to muddy the distinction between the horizontal ground plane and the boundaries of the enclosure. The effect is that ground spaces open and flow seamlessly into the surrounding landscape. While there is no apparent clarity of spatial segregation, there is a notional sense of spatial distinctiveness, a separation of space that is intuitive more than physical.