about
We wanted to connect the spaces in the house with the kitchen via the sense of sight, smell and sound.
The Aroma House was designed on a small plot of land measuring only 22m in length and 6m in width. Due to the short plot length, a street block plan for the house was created under Thomson Garden Estate, which only required a 5m setback instead of the usual 7.5m. The client, a young couple with a young child and a helper, both enjoyed cooking and entertaining guests for dinner and wine. The design concept aimed to connect the spaces in the house with the kitchen via the sense of sight, smell, and sound.
The first storey of the house was dedicated to the client’s entertaining needs, with a cozy living space on the mezzanine and a dining area with an almost 5m high ceiling. An open kitchen was chosen instead of closing it up to contain the smell and grease, with full height openings on both ends of the house to promote cross ventilation and extract grease directly to the external. The staircase was designed to be lightweight and porous, allowing the smell and sounds from the kitchen to permeate through to the upper floors, while also forcing circulation around the kitchen as the focal space of the house.
The private spaces, consisting of a master bedroom/bathroom and a kid’s room with an ensuite, were sandwiched on the 2nd storey, interconnected by a common foyer. The 3rd storey was designed as a flexible space with an almost 5m long sliding door and 2 sets of folding doors that could be configured as a guest room or study for tele-conferencing. The roof was kept as a reinforced concrete (RC) flat roof designed for future expansion, and the elevation was designed with some areas pulled inwards to create depth and prevent weather elements from attacking the openings directly.
The design also incorporated three feature planters into the elevation to add more depth, created by cutting off the shelf concrete pipes normally used in public sewerage. The trees on the façade helped to soften the sun’s light while allowing interesting shadow play when the sun shone through them. The client was convinced to do away with a carporch roof to allow maximum natural light and ventilation into the house via the first storey, while also experiencing the architecture of the house in its full glory without any obstruction.
2022
