House of Trees

The bungalow plot was gifted by an elderly couple to their two sons, who decided to demolish their childhood home to rebuild it into two semi-detached house living as neighbours. Growing up in this house, they were well aware of the undesirable context that faces a six-lane traffic condition with no desirable views.

It was challenging to bring that spirit of respite, liveability and tranquillity into the space but we knew we had to come up with a design strategy that could better respond to its surroundings than to create a hermetic shell.
We asked: Can we create a great indoor space without having a great outdoor?

Living in the tropics equates to having abundant rain and sunlight. Trees and plants thrive well on these elements. Naturally they are also excellent shields for both the eastern and western sun while providing pleasant views. As such, nature was selected as a “building material” to form a porous living façade.

The green facade is a strong singular idea that is able to change the context of the site through nature and structural design but also fulfilling our initial vision of wanting to contribute back to the neighbourhood streetscape.