RESIDENTIAL
The site is located in a hilly estate densely packed with semi-detached houses. The roads are sloped and winding and the constantly varying frontages make for a less than tidy ambience that cries out for some order. The houses are designed to be similar, with difference occurring in the rear of the houses where the living areas and master bedrooms are located. The challenge turned out to be deriving neat and highly efficient layouts on the irregular site.
Minimising overlooking from the adjacent neighbours as well as between the two houses was a paramount consideration. Locating the living room to the rear, where there is more space and where the site opens up, helps relieve potential congestion at the front. Moving the living room to the rear allows the front façade to present a very private and exclusive face.
Having rooms off a single loaded corridor allows the circulation corridor to act as another layer between the outside and the bedrooms. Special aluminium screens with perforations of varying diameters help create an interesting side wall. It also functions as a privacy shield from the next house.
Cladded in hardwood and stainless steel and aluminium screens, and with a very deep cantilevered roof, the house conveys a bold, contemporary and warm feel. The play of horizontal lines and planes against the vertical satisfies the need for a simple kind of order, much desired in the context.
