The Perfect Balance

Architect Ian Chee's apartment, on the ground floor of a conservation building, is a masterclass in art, design and perspective.

- Azhar Rahim

For architectural designer lan Chee, finding his flat in the historic enclave of the Tiong Bahru neighbourhood was somewhat serendipitous. Back in 2019, the Singaporean was accompanying one of his clients to a viewing of apartments they were interested in and needed help redesigning. Walking around the area with his clients, Chee was drawn to the neighbourhood's charm and rich architectural heritage.

I have always loved old architecture because it gives the space character. In fact, when I was living in the United Kingdom, I lived in a Victorian-era house, he fondly reminisces.

And so began the quest to find the right flat in the vicinity. However, despite the charms of the architecture and the neighbourhood's ambience, none of the apartments viewed at the time worked for him. A trained pianist, Chee, who used to play in the Singapore Symphony Orchestra in his younger days, needed a place to accommodate his cherished Steinway piano. He adds that the apartments were all on the upper levels, and moving the Steinway up the narrow stairs would be impossible.

Then, a ground-floor unit became available, and Chee seized the moment without hesitation. When the agent showed me this apartment, it piqued my interest, he shares. I liked the high ceiling, and the street outside is relatively quiet. I could immediately envision what the space was going to be like.

Stepping into the apartment, set in a white lowrise apartment block, one cannot help but be pleasantly surprised. Within the unassuming building, built in the 1930s, was a far more extensive and extraordinary space than its exterior suggests. It is akin to an architectural illusion, where the modesty of the facade belies a spacious and ingeniously designed interior.