Shophouse Series in Geylang

Cutting-edge architecture takes place in the most unexpected of places - Geylang shophouses. Peek inside the conserved units along Lorong 24A. -BT
Tay Suan Chiang

Wed, Sep 12, 2012
The Business Times   

Unit 17

Having heard about the Lorong 24A Shophouse Series, Australian couple Emma Baker and Scott McClelland made it a point to check out the shophouses when they were searching for a home to rent.

Related Links

• Shophouse art

They were attracted to unit 17 by "the unique architecture. It was old on the outside and modern on the inside. We had not seen anything like it", says Ms Baker, a full-time mother. Together with her creative director husband and their two-year-old son, Ace, the family have been living here for the past three months.

Shophouse Series in Geylang

Click on thumbnail to view

Their unit, a three-storey shophouse with a four-storey rear extension was designed by architect Randy Chan from Zarch Collaboratives.

Enter the house and immediately one is drawn to the double height wooden bookshelf set against the shophouse wall. The bookshelf is made of plywood and when Ms Baker first saw it, she knew what to do with them.

Some of the boxes hold Ace's toys, others are display spaces for the couple's books and art pieces. Ms Baker has also put plants in several boxes. "There is no park in the neighbourhood, so I knew I wanted to create a vertical garden at home," she says.

On the ground floor is the living and dining areas and the open island kitchen. It is also on this floor that the family spends most of its time. They have filled it with iconic pieces such as the Eames lounge chair and ottoman, an Arne Jacobsen Egg chair, and an Arco lamp. Most of the furniture was brought over from their old home in Melbourne. Hanging on the walls are artworks that have been collected over the years.

A metal spiral staircase leads to the second and third floors at the front of the house.

A bedroom on the second storey has been converted into Ace's play room, a colourful space filled with toys, kids' furniture and even a teepee. There is another bedroom on the third level.

To get to the back of the house, Mr Chan constructed a metal platform bridge on the second storey with industrial mesh balustrades that run the length of the house.

Walking up the platform bridge affords views down into the ground floor living room. There is a second living room here, suspended above the first in an industrial mesh cage. The perforated metal floor of the second living room allows light to filter down to the space below.

Crossing the bridge leads to the rear extension where there are another two more bedrooms, plus a guest room which opens up to a large terrace.

"The unit is built for exploration, and rewards residents with eclectic elements amidst its industrial flavour. Experience the progressive increase in heights as you walk down the length of the shophouse to the rear," says Mr Chan.

Special attention was paid to the shophouse's original elements. For example, vintage timber rafters have been preserved and plaster on the walls have been carefully chipped away, revealing original brick work installed when the house was first built.

But while the McClellands love their home, they have plans to move out soon. "We are excited about the space, but find it too big for our small family," says Ms Baker.

Interested parties can contact her at 90509436 to view the shophouse.

[e-mail]

Unit 19

Head up to the second floor of this shophouse, and one will immediately see why it has been nicknamed, "the one with the Pregnant Bathroom".

Yes, the bathroom walls have a very obvious bulge. But in the way expectant mums are complimented for their sexy curves, the bathroom looks elegant and not vulgar.

This is the second shophouse designed by Han Loke Kwang from HYLA Architects. Unlike at unit 13, which is more in your face with its red staircases and kitchen walls, the look at unit 19 is more subtle and soothing.

There is a lot of grey here, from the floor tiles on the ground floor, to the steel spiral staircase just by the entrance of the home, and to the walls of the bathroom, which are made of aluminium slats.

Mr Han explains that to fit in the bathtub into the bathroom, which had little space, he had to "push the tub close to the edge, resulting in the screen walls bulging out".

Vying for attention with the Pregnant Bathroom, is the spiral staircase at the front of the house, which connects the ground floor to the attic space on the third storey.

Made of aluminium strips, it sits over a water feature and the entire structure is hung from the upper floor landings.

On the second storey, the master bathroom has tilted glass panels that wrap around the spiral staircase. The result is a C-shaped bathroom: the toilet and shower areas are at both ends of the space, with the spiral staircase in between.

American expatriate Lisa Johnson says this bathroom is her favourite part of the house as "after 21 years of marriage, I can finally share the bathroom with my husband". Mrs Johnson, together with her husband Michael, moved in in June last year.

The staircase ends on the attic level, where a new jack roof was built to allow light and ventilation at the top.

The shophouse looks modern, but little details such as the old timber floor boards and original concrete breeze blocks built into the party walls of the house have been retained.

Earlier this year, the shophouse won an architectural design award from the Singapore Institute of Architects.

Last year, it won an Architectural Heritage Award, given by the Urban Redevelopment Authority in recognition for the special care taken by the owners, architects and contractors to sensitively restore conservation buildings for modern use.

The couple, who are both in the financial services industry, have been living in Asia for 13 years, in high-rise apartments. "We didn't want to be in a high-rise in Singapore," says Mr Johnson.

The couple are avid art collectors, and the "the large open spaces in the shophouse was perfect for hanging art", he says. Hanging on the walls are artworks by Vietnamese artist Nguyen Quang Huy and French artist Christian de Laubadère.

Mrs Johnson says that if she could buy the shophouse, she would. "If we ever buy a shophouse, we would talk to Mr Han about doing the architecture," she adds.

[e-mail]

Unit 21

An indoor swimming pool in the middle of Geylang sounds incredulous, but it is a reality at Unit 21. And this is no ordinary pool, but a 15m heated lap pool that even comes with a wooden deck. So imagine lazing by the water at any time of the day, without worrying about the haze polluting the air or getting sunburnt.

The lap pool has got to be the most unique feature in this shophouse designed by KD Architects together with Farm.

Tiah Nan Chyuan, a member of the design team, says that the front part of a shophouse is often an awkward space. "Most people would keep the windows on the front of the shophouse closed for privacy, and this space is usually a living room or a foyer," he says.

Rather than do the same, the design team decided to lift the living, dining and kitchen areas upwards onto the second storey. This meant that the ground floor could be left empty, and the space was just right to put in a lap pool.

The shophouse owner had requested for the pool to be a heated one, so that the water temperature never gets too cold.

But swimmers need not worry about being seen by strangers who walk by the shophouse, as a foyer with louvred windows between the front door and the pool ensures privacy.

From the pool, visitors walk up a wide concrete staircase to the kitchen and the dining area, both bathed in plenty of natural light thanks to the large glass windows. A further flight of steps leads visitors to the living room, and the master bedroom behind it. There is also a luxurious double height master bathroom here that reaches all the way to the jack roof, allowing light to filter down to the tub.

There are an additional three more bedrooms on the third and fourth floors. All bedrooms have been designed to receive adequate natural daylight and ventilation.

Rather than have conventional spiral staircases, the design team built a series of stairs that loop the length of the shophouse on various levels, facilitating the dialogue between old and new.

Mr Tiah says that the tight budget left them with little money to do a fancy staircase. So they built their staircase of concrete, which has become a centrepiece for the home. "Visitors tell me they love the staircase, as it reminds them of the ones from their secondary school days," says Mr Tiah.

For the tenants, a British couple and their toddler, the shophouse was their choice of accommodation as "it is unique and has character", says the husband. They had previously been living in an apartment, but "while that is lovely, condos tend to be clinical", he says. Instead of plastered white walls, their home has brick walls and the shophouse's original breeze blocks in the party walls which add to its charm. The pool is an added bonus for the family.

Coming from Shoreditch, the couple say that Geylang feels similar and has a good vibe with a strong mix of cultures.

"Our friends are definitely jealous of our new home," says the husband.

[e-mail]

 

Shophouse art

 

Tay Suan Chiang 
The Business Times
Friday, Sep 14, 2012

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.

 

Shophouse art Click on thumbnail to view

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.

[e-mail]

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.

[e-mail]

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.

[e-mail]