Lim KS Albert - Singapore Houses

A water fountain allows gushing water to discharge into a koi pond.

WOHA Architects is, in the opinion of the respected architect and urban theorist Professor William Lim Siew Wai, currently the most innovative practice in Singapore, where the partners and staff are constantly testing themselves and reinventing their architecture through experimentation and never repeating themselves.

Wong Mun Summ is a 1989 graduate of the School of Architecture at the National University of Singapore. He was one of a high-flying cohort of final year students that included Tan Hock Beng, now a principal of MAPS Design Studio, and Siew Man Kok, a principal of MKPL Architects. In his pre-final year, Wong won an award in a national competition for the design of City 2000 that showed a preference for clearly expressed formal solutions. For a period in the mid-1980s he worked with Kerry Hill Architects and later with William Lim Associates. Upon graduation, he returned to Kerry Hills practice where he was closely associated with the design of several resorts, including The Datai at Pulau Langkawi and The Serai in Bali. While at Kerry Hill Architects, Wong met Richard Hassell, a top graduate of the University of Western Australia who had studied under Professor Geoffrey London and later completed a Master of Architecture programme at RMIT University in Melbourne with Professor Leon van Schaik.

In 1994, the Singaporean and Australian duo moved on to set up WOHA and have subsequently designed several award-winning buildings, including No. 1 Moulmein Rise (winner of a prestigious Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2007) and the Stadium MRT (winner of a Singapore Institute of Architects Award in 2008). The practice is in the forefront of green design solutions, and a number of their buildings have been commended for their forward-thinking ideas on the environment. While many architects are familiar with the principles of green walls and vertical gardens, WOHA have gone further and implemented these ideas in several projects.

The Wind House, on the edge of the Botanical Gardens, embraces this spirit of exploration of climatically appropriate form and sustainable technology and is designed to exploit its unique location. The architects sought to develop a formal language from environmental strategies and to create a poetic expression of technology. The idea of harnessing the cooling effect of the wind is a key determinant of the built form. The plan is in the form of three parallel layers arranged in a northsouth direction that permit the prevailing southwest and northeast monsoons to naturally ventilate the house. Other environmental measures include directing winds over water for evaporative cooling and using louvres and large overhangs with expansive roof gardens for shade.

A series of aligned openings in enfilade creates air paths through fully operable door panels in the faade, and electrically operated louvres located at the highest point of the stair core permit the owner to induce ventilation using the stack effect. Opening windows alongside the elevator shaft at the third storey level create an area of negative pressure in the lee of the house, allowing air to be rapidly drawn through.

The house has a south-facing L-shaped form which embraces a black-tiled swimming pool and a tranquil open-sided pavilion. The boundary fence is obscured by dense planting, which makes the garden appear much larger than it actually is. In addition, a spectacular bridge at the summit of the house gives a dramatic elevated view south towards the Singapore Botanical Gardens so that the public landscaped park appears to be an extension of the house.

Finishes of the house, in aluminium, steel, concrete and glass, have been detailed with such precision that, at first, the house appears somewhat austere. The gentle tactile aesthetic of several of WOHAs earliest houses, derived from Wong and Hassells experience of resort design, has gradually been replaced by a more ascetic abstract modernism. This possibly reflects the fact that the practice has consciously moved on to larger commissions. However, it also arises out of the clients preference for stone and metal rather than timber.

The owners brief was very clear. We did not want a humongous house, he explains. The largest room in the house is the living space that is 11 m x 6 m, and the dining room is just 6 m x 6 m. We were also clear that we did not want the house to rely on air conditioning. In addition, we specified that the house be future-proofed, with the inclusion of an elevator providing access to all levels.

Prevailing breezes cool the tranquil pool pavilion.

The bridge at the summit of the house overlooks the swimming pool and pavilion.

The modern aesthetic of the house employs vertical striated concrete. Verticality is further evident in the window and cladding details. In contrast, the concrete wall in the entrance lobby is more tactile, with a low relief sculptural design in cement by Brisbane artist Bruce Reynolds. The wall depicts the house owners favourite flora and fauna. Also in sharp contrast to the modernist form is the owners furniture, crafted in a dark timber in a traditional Chinese style, much of it transported from their former residence.

The residence has been described as a machine that captures the monsoon breezes in Singapores tropical climate. The notion of harnessing the wind drove the concept and it undoubtedly works. The form encourages natural ventilation, and the breezes at the top of the house are exceptionally strong. The principles of sustainable design extend to the roof where the house owner grows a variety of herbs in a small kitchen garden. Another sustainable principle is the simultaneous use of part of the house as a management office, with a small amount of the ground floor space used as the hub of the owners business. The owner also has a sophisticated and well-stocked wine cellar where he entertains colleagues and friends.

WOHAs cutting-edge work is increasingly recognized on the international stage and its projects have been published in Architectural Review (UK), a+u (Japan), Interior Design (USA), Architecture Australia and Monument (Australia). The firms work appeared in the second edition of 10X10 , and in 2006 was exhibited at the Aedes East Gallery in Berlin.

The architects employ a harmonious combination of colours and materials.

The rooftop is a breezy spot, with views over the tree canopy to the city skyline.

The vertical circulation, including an elevator, is located in a tall three-storey atrium.