Multi[4]-Generational Housing, Singapore

Completed (2014)


Singapore – Rising property prices and statistics have shown a rising trend in multi-generational housing arrangements where more family units undergo resource consolidation and opt to live together.

Multi[4]-Generational House is a 3.5 levels residential unit that houses a family of FOUR generations. Taking inspiration from a Japanese bento box. It is conceived as an entity; an elegant and compact container with a common architectural framework designed to house distinctively different programmatic requirement that addresses the communal and private aspects of the family members.

Located amidst the lush greenery in the Bukit Timah area, the house exists on a compact land plot with intense programmatic demands that  required spatial experiences to be ‘extended’ beyond its physical boundary. It demonstrates the capturing of external greenery views and prevailing breeze by strategically incorporating high performance glass windows with side overhangs to provide shade from the elements and cross ventilation, thus, allowing optimal daylight and airflow into an otherwise internalised ‘closed-off’ spatial experience.

The ground level forms the focal point of the family communal life, where living, dining and kitchen are seamlessly amalgamated in an open plan, with generous steps serving as informal seating for larger family events. An adjacent bedroom with unobstructed views to the garden and lap pool, allows grandmother to participate in the family’s daily life with ease. The upper floors are accessed either via a common stairway or elevator and are conceived as ‘units within a unit’ with the second level housing the son’s family, while the third level comprises of the master bedroom, communal movie room and entrances to the loft and attic bedrooms for the clients’ children.

Building Type: Residential
Location: Bukit Timah Area, Singapore 
Gross Floor Area: 680 sqm
Site Area: 470 sqm 
Status: Completed (2014)
Photography Credit: Bryan van der Beek (www.bryanv.com)