Terrace Flat
2022
Terrace Flat is a derivative of experimenting with the open-plan concept within a ubiquitous public housing flat in Singapore. It responds to the post-pandemic world we inhabit today, exploring the possibility of a new domestic typology — the Adaptive Home. Rather than redefining the footprint, the project reconsiders how space can remain flexible and responsive to evolving patterns of living, working, and gathering. Its approach to aesthetics and materiality draws from the Japanese concept of Wabi-Sabi, emphasising honesty, tactility, and craft.
TEAM
Ar. Melvin Keng
Mr Clarence Chan
PHOTOGRAPHY
Khoo Guojie
AWARDS
Dezeen Awards 2022, Apartment Interiors (Longlist)
Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA) Design Awards 2022, Merit Award (Interior Architecture)
Golden Pin Design Award 2022, Design Mark for Spatial Design
Singapore Interior Design Awards (SIDA) 2022, Silver Award for Apartment Design
MEDIA
新加坡建築師眼中的侘寂，是不假修飾的自然永續。Kaizen Architecture建築事務所創辦人Melvin Keng的私宅設計Creative balcony ideas for HDB flatsA ‘terrace’ flat shows off flexible open-plan livingInside A Carefully Considered Raw Architect’s Home With A Carved Out BalconyThe future flat is an adaptive homeInside A Carefully Considered Raw Architect’s Home With A Carved Out BalconyHabitus Living: The future flat is an adaptive homeHouse Tour: An architect's open-plan 3-room flat that offers greater flexibilitySixides: Step Inside the Most Unique and Inspiring Apartment Designed by an Architect - OpenHouse Ep 08
The concept explores the open-plan condition within the boundaries of a typical three-bedroom public housing flat. The first strategy was to dissolve the original internal partitions that once demarcated rooms and programmes, creating a single contiguous spatial field.
Within this openness, furniture layouts, storage systems, and custom carpentry are deployed to subtly delineate new domestic zones. A full-height plywood carpentry volume is inserted at the centre of the unit, forming an organising core from which daily programmes — sleeping, dining, storage, and cooking — extend.
Custom timber-framed sliding glass doors carve out an internal garden veranda from the interior. This gesture references the owner’s childhood memory of arriving home through a porch and garden before entering a terrace house. Set at a slant, the doors amplify perspective upon entry, drawing the eye towards the landscape beyond.
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