00:03I was looking for a living space and an office space that is near the city, my
00:09parents' home and is also low rise. This project is a reinterpretation of the
00:16traditional shop house. Instead of having a building with offices or shop at
00:22street level and home at the upper levels, we split the unit and have a
00:27office and a home besides each other.
00:37The apartment is located at Serangoon Central. Serangoon is in the northeast
00:44region of Singapore and it's close proximity to the city. The building is a
00:51public housing with shops on the first floor completed in 1988.
00:58William lives here. It is also the office of Studio Wheels, our architectural practice.
01:05The idea was to create functional living and working spaces that are fully equipped and
01:11independent of each other while connected by a common space.
01:19The apartment was formerly a single-use residential unit with two bedrooms and two bathrooms.
01:28A wall runs right through the center of the original space. We removed the ceiling. It created
01:35opportunities to add a loft with a bed between the living and dining and plenty of storage above each of
01:41the spaces.
01:45The entrance is the common foyer for the home and office. There is a slimline bench
01:52and louvered windows above that to open to the exterior of the apartment.
02:00Glass sliding doors provide entrances to the office and to the home.
02:08The living room sits below a sloped high ceiling. There is a sofa which can be turned into a gas
02:15bed.
02:15And we have a painting by Singapore-based Malaysian artist Kaylee Go.
02:22A flanced state mobile hangs from above and a sister by Santa Cole provides low-level lighting by the sofa.
02:33Next to the living room is where our largest piece of built-in furniture in the home is located.
02:40We call it the space marker. Within this space marker is a walk-in wardrobe for clothes and other personal
02:47belongings. The dining room sits between the kitchen and the wardrobe. It is furnished simply by a white
02:57dining table that can seat up to six people. We built shelves on the other side of the wardrobe for
03:06a
03:06coffee maker, microwave and bar fridge. Under the window is the kitchen area. There is a stainless steel sink
03:15sink on the counter with under counter storage. On the side, we made an area for the washing machine.
03:26Across the washing machine is an apron sink with mirror and under counter storage.
03:34In the bathroom, there is a toilet and an overhead shower. This bathroom is completely lined with blue
03:41mosaic tiles. A metal chain inspired by rain water chains drains the condensate water from the air
03:50conditioning system. A bed of loose pebbles conceals a floor trap below it.
03:57The bed sits above the space marker and is essentially a platform with futon on top.
04:06A flip-up storage is integrated within the platform bed.
04:12The platform has a latch with integrated up lighting for artworks.
04:20A pivot window panel opens up with a view to the office.
04:28The office is the largest and most voluminous space of the unit. Three tables join up to form a long
04:37work desk for this open office. Built-in furniture, finished in white oak veneer, integrates bookshelves,
04:47pantry and a concealed door leading to the office bathroom.
04:53Opposite this built-in furniture is a latch for material samples above which hangs artworks primarily
05:00photographs that documents the development of Singapore from villages to housing estate.
05:07In the centre of this space is an island counter with a wash basin. It is an informal space
05:14for having a chat while making a coffee. At the end of the office is a simple kitchen with an
05:22integrated
05:22hop and oven and overlooks to a courtyard of this building. Behind the concealed door in the wall
05:32panelling is a compact bathroom. In it is a wash basin with a mirror, a toilet and a shower.
05:40Like the other bathroom, this one is also completely lined with similar mosaic tiles but in olive green colour.
05:50Our small space design philosophy in this project is to create a co-sharing environment that is space
05:57saving and opens visually and physically to the environment. In this project, we looked to compact
06:04storage solutions to maximize storage capacity. Keeping the furniture along the perimeter of the
06:11rooms leaves open and voluminous spaces. With the upgrading and repurposing of this previously
06:19single-use residential unit, it allows for flexible use over time which will sustain the property
06:25property over the cost of its life.
06:44design off the wall
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