d+a | Issue 115 • Apr/May 2020

59 Underfoot, limestone tiles are used, chosen for their natural look. The upper floors are occupied by bedrooms for the owner and his wife, three children and parents. The sense of openness is tangible even in the floating staircase, which becomes visible from outside at night when the house is all lit up, further contributing to its linear design language. The master bedroom on the second storey has one of the best views. It faces the void and, in time to come, the foliage of the Leopard Tree. Beyond that is a balcony that sits directly above the ground floor veranda, offering front- row seats to the canopy of the trees in the park. Thean points out that a lot of effort was made into the detailing of the house, “We designed the railing of the balcony to echo the expression of the beams on the facade eaves and overhangs – a feature that became affectionately known as the ‘chopsticks’. Up in the attic is a family area and the children’s bedrooms. Here, the expression of the trellis that caps the void is visible and also repeated on the roof of the second storey. Floor-to-ceiling glass on the front façade again invites views out to the park, retaining that connection to nature. While not particularly fancy or out of this world, Thean and her team have designed House 25 to be coherent, functional, elegantly simple and respectful of its advantageous location. “We have tried to re-think what a semi- detached house can look like, given the advantage of not having to maximise the GFA or built-up. Whether or not we succeeded is debatable; more importantly, the owner is pleased with the outcome.” 7. In the attic, floor-to-ceiling glass invites views out to the park, retaining that connection to nature. / 8. The master bedroom overlooks the void and, in time to come, the foliage of the Leopard Tree. HOUSE 25 LOCATION Singapore / COMPLETION 2019 / SITE AREA 384.88m 2 / BUILDING AREA 253m 2 / GROSS FLOOR AREA 517.03m 2 / ARCHITECT Park + Associates / LEAD ARCHITECTS Lim Koon Park, Chris Thean, Jeeraporn Prongsuriya, Jen Tan / ID CONSULTANT Stacey Leong Interiors / LIGHTING SUPPLIER E-Lume / CONTRACTOR Dreambuild / C&S CONSULTANT CP Lim & Partners / FURNITURE Vitra Furniture, Hans Wegner, Ferm Living, Normann Copenhagen, Oluce, Artemide, Muuto, Louis Poulsen / SANITARYWARE Kohler, AXOR, FIMA 8 7