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K2LD completes collaborative new Singapore housing development
The Lien Collective is a development that consists of six modern houses built on plots subdivided from the garden of the Lien family’s colonial bungalow. Being appointed the master planner for this development, K2LD decided to embark on a project which involved the collaborative vigour of 5 other young architects. This approach would be the first in Singapore, as six houses were designed not to be alike as is common in most developments, but to be distinctively different.
For this method to work, we decided that there should be no physical boundaries between the plots and each architect had to rely on the use of architectural tectonics, views, sensory perception and landscape to create a dynamically perceived boundary between each of their plots, instead of a static one. Therefore, it was impossible to design one house without understanding what the other houses were about. This forged a design relationship between the various architects as they had to be sensitive to and respond to each other’s work.
Parameters had to be set out in order to preserve the original intent of the project; the new houses should complement and respect the existing patriarch bungalow. For example, all houses should have a flat roof, so that the original house stands out as being the only one with pitch roof. Also, an axis was created with landscape elements, to give a presence and reverence to the existing house.
As this project has been a rewarding and successful experience for all who were involved, we hope that this incredible vision and commitment from the client to commission such a project will ultimately be a catalyst for the local architects to explore further the notion of a modern house in Singapore.
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