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Some of us take photos, others choose to create software and there are those who choose to serve community. Each, in their own way, leave a mark on a country’s landscape.
However, no one leaves a mark more permanently and as distinctly as a personal thumbprint, than architects who put pencil to paper and translate dreams into concrete statements.
There is no denying that Kuala Lumpur would be quite different without the Petronas Twin Towers and the Singapore skyline slightly lacking without the iconic OCBC Centre.
At the same it isn’t wrong to also conclude that what makes the physical landscape very different too, are the smaller, distinct developments found in homes.
In Singapore Houses, by Tuttle Publishing (US$49.95/S$75 before GST),the works of young Singapore architects come under the lens of Albert Lim KS and the scrutiny of Robert Powell.
UK-based architect and urban designer Powell, who has produced 28 books in his field of expertise is best known for this landmark exploration of Asian dwellings such as The Asian House and The Tropical Asian House.
Just like his earlier works, Singapore Houses isn’t a mere visual examination of homes that are distinct.
The 240-page book sees Powell taking the reader through the foundations, challenges and creative solutions that went into the creation of each Singapore house.
It is easy to appreciate Powell’s insightful discourse at the start of Singapore Houses, under the chapter Cutting Edge Tropical Architecture in a Global City.
In the chapters that follow, readers will appreciate the accompanying write-up of each selected house, from architect’s background, to the challenges faced by the architect – varying from the requirements of the client to the physical constraints of the project.
This is not just a coffee-table book, although there will be some who will use it as such. That will be a pity.
Singapore Houses is a book to be opened again and again because it is like a well-designed home, with so many angles to appreciate and use, given your need at that point in time.
There is inspiration from the plans and elevations that are reproduced; solutions from the insights shared by the architects on their projects; and ideas from the colourful photographs.
Those who want to simply appreciate fine detailing and shadows will also enjoy Singapore Houses for the efforts of architectural photographer Albert Lim KS.
Flipping through the colourful pages, I found Singapore Houses to be a rather personal book without any firm intent of being such and yet at the same time, the casual reader won’t be made to feel intrusive or excluded.
It’s clear that many of the architects featured were able to share with Robert Powell since he had taught at the School of Architecture at the National University of Singapore and had seen some of them grow from wide-eyed, eager students to architects of stature in their own right.
Seeing people in their personal space as captured by Lim in his picture essays on homes such as the Lakeshore House, Oei Tiong Ham Park House and Cornwall Gardens House also lent a dimension that reminds the reader that the creations are functionally livable.
While there is no denying that most of 26 homes featured bear addresses and probably budgets that offer room to experiment, there are also some that many would find it easy to relate to.
My personal favourite was Chang Yong Ter’s Jalan Elok House.
This house didn’t have token greenery but a garden in different parts inside the home making it cooler aside from aesthetically pleasing.
What won me over was just how the young architect was able to successfully transform the mid-sized terrace house which stands sandwiched between older houses and dwarfed by nearby Mt Elizabeth hospital and towering apartment blocks. In other words, this was a piece of property that any one of us would buy on the resale market.
I found it hard to put down the book, not because it was slightly heavy but because it left me smiling as I familiarized myself with the works of forgotten acquaintances and oft-mentioned young architects.
Surprisingly, Singapore Houses also offered me a peek into a house that always made me stop for a minute’s appreciation of its design when meandering through Serangoon Gardens housing estate.
In Singapore Houses, now available in all leading bookstores, readers will see homes that are more often than not practical despite whimsical names such as Wind House.
As Powell noted, elements such as the public and private face for a house grew from the challenges of city-living while the “narrative technique” was developed to accommodate the varying needs of multi-generational families under one roof.
While being influenced by international architects such as Philip Johnson and I.M Pei who contributed to Singapore’s built-up landscape, many also took a leaf out of the books of Asian architect Geoffrey Bawa to offer homes that accommodate the inescapable climate of tropical Singapore.
What took Singapore Houses and the homes featured in it to the next level was its exploration and display of winning ideas that have gone into making homes that are friendly to the surrounding environment.
In land-scarce Singapore, as well as many other parts of developing Asia, it is not wrong to surmise that many share the dream of owning not just a home, but a house.
However it was good to note, as Powell did, that maximizing a plot with scant attention to design is starting to give way to the need for true living spaces, as seen in Singapore Houses.
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