House Of History

The collective memories of a family are embodied in this home, which is now a meaningful setting for gathering and remembering

- Luo Jingmei

A mid the melange of modern houses in central Singapore stands a home that is elegantly simple. The original property was built 80 years ago and has since been lovingly restored with art deco proportions and features by Archetype Studio.

The clients had lived here with their parents but the house lay empty for a decade after the parents’ passing. Though not forgotten, this home—tended to by caretakers—showed signs of age. Many ideas were thrown up at the family table—to sell or segment the land? In the end, sentiment trumped commerciality. “We thought it would be nice to have a place where we could all gather for Chinese New Year or our parents’ death anniversaries. If we sold it, how can we replicate the memories?” says one of the siblings, a well-travelled businessman with a keen appreciation for good architecture and craftsmanship.

SENSE OF PLACE

As the siblings’ recollections were so closely tied to the house, it made good sense to retain as much of the original building as possible, while improving it to accommodate large groups. “The distinctive reinforced-concrete ledges and second-storey balcony motifs were deliberately preserved, with new mild steel windows invigorated with steelwork elements of the past,” says Darren Yio, the founder of Archetype Studio, who had worked on the client’s private home as a former employee at SCDA Architects.