I believes that the key to achieving a comfortable living space is to keep things simple. This is the clear-minded approach I used to transform the dated and inefficient interiors of this three-storey intermediate terrace home in the east of Singapore. It was built in the mid-nineties and the original layout featured a ground level with dark and claustrophobic walled-in spaces and a small guest room, a second floor with two small bedrooms and a top floor with a master bedroom and another small bedroom.

The client, a mother with three young adult sons, was open to design ideas but had a list of functional requirements. She wanted common spaces to entertain up to 18 people, a wet and dry kitchen, a room for her parents who stay over occasionally, and a room for a helper—all on the ground floor. The client also requested a master bedroom with en-suite bathroom on the second floor, and three equally large bedrooms for each of her sons.

I removed the compartmentalised spaces on the ground floor and devised a series of open zones starting with the living space at the front, the dining area and the dry kitchen, in that order. Following that is a compact nucleus named the Core. It consists of the parent’s room, common bathroom, helper’s room and laundry area meticulously planned to house multiple functions neatly and efficiently in a small footprint. The Core is anchored by the parent’s bedroom, with the common bathroom on its right and a passageway on the left. Though the use of space-saving sliding doors, both spaces can be closed for privacy or opened for access to create a convenient loop around the ground level with no dead ends. The helper’s room is adjacent to the parent’s room and the laundry area tucked neatly at the side of the common bathroom. The extra space needed for the Core was created by extending the back of the house into the former lawn area and replacing the original fence with high brick walls. With fewer physical barriers, light and air now flow easily into the heart of the home from both the front and back of the house.

The original entranceway of the home was also modified to bring in more light. A non-load bearing column was removed from the original entrance to create one big doorway closed up by new floor-to-ceiling bi-folding clear glass doors framed in aluminium. When the doors are fully open and pushed to the side, it offers a full unobstructed view of the living space and dry kitchen from the front—showcasing the precise design details and visual impact of the minimalist space.

Colours in the home were specially chosen to provide them with modern spaces to enjoy. Microcement and lime plaster finish are predominantly used on the floor and walls. They come in custom colours that echo natural pottery pigments, and their organic hand-applied textures soften the sharp clean profiles of the design. In the living area, an assembly of low platforms serve as steps, seats and table surfaces. The grey of these cast concrete structures are complemented by a similar tone of painted walls, microcement flooring, and custom upholstery for a calm and cohesive look. These unobtrusive and versatile platforms also visually bridge the transition between the living and dining areas, and are great for entertaining large numbers of people.

Conscious of my client’s budget, I kept and incorporated the original teak staircase. While previously seen as a jarring outdated element, it was made to appear lighter and more sculptural by removing the balustrade and modifying the shape of the existing staircase landing. I also referenced the classic round knob of the wood-turned-post in the spherical lamps of the living and dining area and throughout the home.

To fulfil the client’s wish for a large master bedroom with ensuite bathroom on the second floor, I extended the footprint of the floor with a concrete slab that cuts across the once 6.5-m-high double volume ceiling of the living area below. The exposed concrete beams of the room were kept to preserve its ceiling height. A specially-sourced translucent coating was applied on the beams and ceiling to make good their uneven colouration and retain their material texture. The bedroom is separated from the bathroom with a bedhead-cum-partition wall in lime plaster in the colour of red clay. Light enters the bathroom through the rows of glass blocks above the washbasin. Although this is unusual in Asian homes, where bedrooms and bathrooms are usually closed off from each other, it is practical and sustainable here thanks to the generous sizes of the newly configured bedrooms. The sufficient light and ventilation enable the reduction of physical barriers so new ways of designing spaces and living can emerge. With more transparency, much care was taken in choosing the home’s light, switches and bathroom fixtures, some of which were specially imported.

To achieve large bedrooms for all three sons, I combined the two existing smaller bedrooms on the second floor into one. On the third floor, I extended the existing bedroom (and roof) at the back of the house. Each room is given a unique identity using different designs, materials and colours—while all united by a clear architectural vision.