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Issue 62 - Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62

Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62 is the first issue of the year and always a great time to put our best foot forward. With Adam Goodrum, the loveliest man in design, as Guest Editor, we draw on his insights as a furniture designer, artist and educator to look at the makers shaping our design world. Sustainability has never been more important, and increasingly this is a consideration from the start with projects designed to address their immediate environment as well as the longevity of the planet. From the coldest winters to the most tropical of summers, addressing how we live in the environment is crucial to creating the perfect home.

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Light-filled TT Apartment in Singapore
ApartmentsEditorial Team

Light-filled TT Apartment in Singapore

Singapore

Breaking free from the common approach of defining spaces by their function, TT Apartment explores the idea of a transformable space; a design that seeks to accommodate life in a tight spatial layout. Words by Philippa Daly.


To live in one of Singapore’s public housing apartments requires a certain state of mind. Juggling space (or lack there of), privacy and regulation are only some of the factors you face when you own a Housing and Development Board (HDB) apartment. And with over 80% of Singapore’s population living in these HDB flats, you also face the rule of design commonality; apart from personal possessions, your apartment probably looks like every other.

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It creates an interesting set of challenges, and one recently experienced by Low Chee Khiang and Roystern Goh, of 0932 Design Consultants when they were asked to re-design a client’s 102-square-metre apartment. Juggling the necessity for three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a living area and a brief for a contemporary design aesthetic, Khiang and Goh required an approach that was, even at its very basic, highly conceptualised. “It was no doubt one of the most interesting interior projects we have worked on,” says Goh. “But from the beginning, we were always interested in exploring the idea of using the built form itself to maximise space in an interior project.”

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Located in the Northern region of Singapore, TT Apartment was a new build in a private condominium apartment block. 0932 Design were essentially brought in to make the space more liveable, more personalised; “The owner’s brief was to create a space with a light industrial aesthetic, but balanced within a warm and cozy setting,” says Goh.

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Deciding to keep both the flooring and bathrooms in their original state, and using the apartment’s concrete walls as dividers in the living room meant that extra space was created at the front of the apartment for the construction of a wooden pavilion. Housing all the main activities including dining, entertaining, reading and even yoga, the pavilion acts not only as a functional extension to the living areas, but also as an artistic insertion into the otherwise mundane HDB design.

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“Looking from the functional aspect,” continues Goh, “the pavilion can also maintain the apartment’s air-conditioned environment when it is fully closed. But it also has the option to be partially opened for ventilation.” When all panels are closed, the pavilion also serves to minimise noise from the street below. “And in the evening, when there is a need for entertaining or dining, the surfaces of the pavilion are detailed to accommodate a built-in dining table,” adds Goh.

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It is clear that 0932 have taken note of Singapore’s tropical climate; its very essence forms the basis of the pavilion’s wooden panelled details. But beyond this didactic purpose, Khiang and Goh’s pavilion is also a stunning work of design, art even; a careful, considered and precise form that captures us intellectually and emotionally. And in a city as heavily layered in urbanism as Singapore, it’s inspiring to see design professionals like 0932 seek better ways for living.

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Images: David Chan and Dennis Lim

0932 Design Consultants
0932.am


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0932 Designapartmentapartment designHDB faltsHDB flatsHome ArchitectureHouse ArchitecturerenovationResidential ArchitectureSingapore


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Issue 62 - Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62

Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62 is the first issue of the year and always a great time to put our best foot forward. With Adam Goodrum, the loveliest man in design, as Guest Editor, we draw on his insights as a furniture designer, artist and educator to look at the makers shaping our design world. Sustainability has never been more important, and increasingly this is a consideration from the start with projects designed to address their immediate environment as well as the longevity of the planet. From the coldest winters to the most tropical of summers, addressing how we live in the environment is crucial to creating the perfect home.

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