Shophouse art
PHOTO: Shophouse art
PUBLISHED ONSeptember 13, 2012 4:00 PM
Mention Geylang and the image of streetwalkers and wok hei-fragranced fried beef kway teow comes to mind. But cutting-edge architecture might be a new attraction for this otherwise sleazy yet quintessentially Singaporean neighbourhood.
Credit this sudden spurt of design prowess to a string of eight shophouses that make up The Lorong24A Shophouse Series, which showcases the work of eight different architecture firms hired to put their own spin to these pre-war conservation structures.
Stepping up to the task of remodelling the interiors of the eight shophouses - No 5 and the odd numbers from 9 to 21 - were: Atria Architects, Liu & Wo Architects, Linghao Architects, Lekker Design, Zarch Collaboratives, KD Architects, Farm, and HYLA Architects. KD Architects and Farm worked together on a shophouse, while HYLA Architects designed two shophouses.
The architects are a mix of those who had experience designing homes, and up-and-coming ones. "It was key that their design approaches were different in order to come up with a collection of very different, but workable, solutions for the collection, with each unit imbued with a unique character," says Karen Tan, who runs Pocket Project, a development consultancy firm which handles the project.
The shophouses belong to a group of friends who started buying up the units since the mid-1990s, with each costing between $1.1 million and $1.3 million.
The shophouses were built in the 1920s and are of the Late Style, characterised by an extensively ornamental facade.
The shophouses were given conservation status by the Urban Redevelopment Authority in 1991, which means that the facade and streetscape of the shophouses have to be retained, but a new rear extension is allowed.
The brief to the architects was simple: Each shophouse had to have at least three bedrooms, and where possible, original materials such as timber floors and window shutters were to be preserved. The budget for each shophouse was $500,000, and "they also had to be works of art", says Ms Tan.
The last shophouse, unit 13, is undergoing its final touches, but the rest have since been leased out to expatriates.
BT Weekend visits six of the eight shophouses.
Unit 11
On the outside, the brown wooden doors and green walls of 11, Lorong 24A look like they could use a fresh coat of paint. The dreary, unwelcoming vibe it projects does not entice you to enter, but once you do, it's as if you've just entered another world.
It's bright and airy, and the interior space has a raw, pared down back-to-basics aesthetics. Now home to a Canadian expatriate couple, the shophouse was designed by Ling Hao, of Linghao Architects.
The front of the house with its white walls and concrete floor make the 6m-wide living room feel spacious. Instead of filling this space with furniture, the tenants have turned it into a mini art gallery by hanging pop art pieces on the walls, which add touches of colour.
The old part of the house has three-storeys, while the rear extension comprises four floors with a sunken kitchen. An open central courtyard connects the old and the new.
The courtyard features granite pavers and is also protected by retractable awning in case of heavy rain. This is the best spot from which to fully appreciate the home, as its focal point - an unusual staircase - is in full view.
Forget the more conventional spiral staircase commonly seen in shophouses. This one comprises "thin steel bridges that stretch from one level to the next, criss-crossing the courtyard space", says Mr Ling.
"The intertwining staircases act as a series of metal bridges - some straight, some curved, some kinked," he adds. The staircase balustrades are crafted from industrial mesh. Each flight is covered by a metal roof where planters have be installed to grow wedelia plants.
Apart from the living, dining areas and kitchen, the unit also has four ensuite bedrooms, a maid's room, a study room, and an open roof terrace spread over 4,000 sq ft of space.
Mr Ling explains that "the house is made into a series of staggered levels with various paths connecting them through hanging gardens and terraces with many views and glimpses of the house, the city and the skies as you go about".
The bedrooms in the old section of the house have had their timber floors and joists preserved.
In contrast, the new rear comprises a stack of small rooms, glassed on all four walls. These glass panels can be fully opened to allow air to flow through. The old shophouse spaces are shadowy but here, it's relatively bright with light falling around the terraces on each level.
"I had imagined a family staying in the large house, maybe with kids growing up, and that it would be a house where they can see each and hear each other and run into each other as well as experience the environment; as compared to a house where the rooms are closed off and the exterior is removed from the everyday," says Mr Ling.
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Unit 13
Beware the "Red Dragon" that lives behind this door. Ok, it doesn't breathe fire but "slaying" it involves effort. The Red Dragon, a nickname given by the owner, is a four-storey high red steel staircase that connects the ground floor to the shophouse's roof terrace. Going up once is a novelty, but climbing it several times a day can be tiring.
This staircase, together with another three-storey high staircase are the key highlights of this shophouse designed by Han Loke Kwang, from HYLA Architects.
Mr Han says he often uses staircases as the centrepiece for homes that he designs.
The Red Dragon proved to be a difficult one to build. Previous designs for this staircase had to be thrown out, as "they were not build-able". The Red Dragon was the final solution and contractors had to build it section by section on site.
The staircase not only serves a functional purpose but is a response to the brief from the owner who wanted the home to be a piece of art. "The Red Dragon is like a sculpture or an abstract artwork," says Mr Han.
The second staircase, nearer the front of the house, connects the second storey to the attic. It is a spiral staircase but enclosed in a cage-like structure, hovering over the island kitchen on the ground floor.
The kitchen divides the living room and dining room. The latter is sited next to a pond, where diners can enjoy contemplative views of the water, making for an ideal entertainment space.
Both staircases are painted a deep red, to "make them stand out from the rest of the house which is white", says Mr Han.
He says that while the staircases are dramatic, the rest of the house has been kept simple, so that the tenants have free play of the space.
With the exception of the master bedroom, the remaining four bedrooms all look into the atrium space where the Red Dragon is. "This allows for visual communication," says Mr Han.
Care has been taken to preserve the shophouse's old timber floorboards, joists and peephole, as well as the floral floor tiles in the living room.
The shophouse is currently being used to hold Acoustic Anarchy, an art exhibition by Mark Ong and Sue-Anne Lim, famed for their handcrafted custom sneakers. Artworks which are for sale are displayed in the bedrooms, as well as along the corridors connecting the front and rear extension of the home.
The exhibition runs till Sept 9, after which the shophouse will be leased out.
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Unit 15
When Australian couple Bronwen Fitzroy-Ezzy and Stuart Walker were looking for a home in Singapore, "we knew we wanted something that was not the usual", says Ms Fitzroy-Ezzy, executive vice-president of Beeline, a workforce solutions company. The couple moved to Singapore about two months ago, when Ms Fitzroy-Ezzy was posted here.
On their list was a location that had to be somewhere between Changi Airport and the Central Business District and not in the usual expat enclave.
They found the ideal home when they were shown this shophouse designed by Lekker Design. To top it off, "we could rent this space for less than in a traditional expat enclave", says Mr Walker.
The couple loved the house's clean, simple lines. The house is bathed almost entirely in white, from some of the floor, to all the walls, and even to the steps and undersides of the staircase. The other colours are the greys on the granite floor tiles and a feature ceiling in the dining room and the dark browns of the original timber flooring.
Architect Ong Ker-Shing, co-founder at Lekker Design says, "the design is a unique combination of home and gallery".
The high ceilings and large walls make it ideal to display art, and yet the space is just as ideal for inhabiting. Ms Ong adds that it is less a home with art, and more an art gallery for inhabitation.
Ms Fitzroy-Ezzy adds: "There is plenty of space for entertaining guests." Her parents have already spent some time here.
It has only been about 16 days since the Walkers moved in, so much of the space and walls are still bare. They have, however, managed to fill most of the common areas such as the living and dining with contemporary furniture. "We decided on modern pieces so as to fit in with the clean, straight lines of the home's architecture," says Mr Walker.
On the ground floor, the front of the house is the living room, which leads to the kitchen, then to the dining room at the back. Ms Ong conceived the dining room as an art gallery, hence the double height volume space with an angled feature ceiling.
"The wide walls are suitable for large art pieces, whilst the tall height accommodates great installation works. This creates the intimate sensation of dining in an art gallery - the one place in which food and drink has always been strictly forbidden," says Ms Ong.
The staircase leading to the upper floors is angular and irregularly shaped, and looks like a sculpture. A skylight at the top of the stairs lights up the home.
On the second floor is the master bedroom, with the original timber flooring and shutters restored. There is a second smaller bedroom on this level.
Up on the third storey is another bedroom in front which overlooks the master bedroom. There is another bedroom at the rear extension, which hovers over the dining room. And instead of looking out into the neighbours, guests in this room look down into the gallery or dining area.
There is another bedroom with a loft on the fourth storey at the back, with a staircase that leads to the roof terrace, which offers surrounding views of the area.
"That will be for guests, so that they can still get their privacy while staying here," says Mr Walker.
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