Cairnhill Road
Designed in 2006 and completed in 2008, 128D Cairnhill Road is a pre-war 2-storey transitional terrace house, originally built as a row of 9 units in a streetblock. Built in the early 1900s, the streetblock has a strong urban presence. The terrace houses are designed with simple but elegant plaster mouldings with a balcony and forecourt fronting the main road.
The client’s brief called for a naturally-ventilated house with light filling the interiors via skylights fenestrations and courtyards. The design addresses the client’s needs by enhancing the qualities of the traditional shophouse- the courtyard was celebrated as the focal point of the house that forms a contiguous space with the living and dining areas. The spatial quality of the shophouse is maintained by minimizing the amount of internal partitions, especially at the conserved main building. The main staircase linking first and second floors of the conserved building was placed along the party wall and detailed to be visually transparent to create a generous contemporary living area which accentuates the linearity of the shophouse.
The central courtyard with its water feature, green wall and sculptural planting provides a focus for the first and second storeys, while a new rooftop swimming pool and terrace at the third level allows full enjoyment of the roof and views over the surrounding area. The main balcony is used as part of the master bathroom. The linear staircase, bridge and spiral staircase create an internal world filled with spatial incident and surprise.