Apartment To Encourage Mindful Slow Living

This apartment in Tiong Bahru was designed to encourage mindful slow living.

- Low Shi Ping

Turn down the tempo, soak in the surroundings and celebrate imperfection— these were the aims of this project designed by UPSTRS_. Aptly named The Slow, this bachelor pad in a conserved walk-up in Tiong Bahru is a living space that caters to a simpler, sustainable and meaningful life.

Dennis Cheok, Creative Director of UPSTRS_, elaborated that this approach guided the project to unfold in three ways: “One, drawing deeply from its specific heritage and morphosis; two, restraining our design interventions in parts to complement and layer upon the pre-existing; and three, pursuing an elemental material palette of steel, concrete, stone and natural timber, oftentimes in their raw natural state.”

In a move that might at first seem at odds with the principle of conservation, the layout of the apartment was flipped 180 degrees—what was public became private and vice versa. “The original layout was a ubiquitous reflection of its time,” Dennis shares. “The ‘guest-facing’ living room was deliberately kept away from the kitchen, then considered to be utilitarian and ‘rear-facing’, unseen by guests and the public.” These days, the kitchen is the true heart of the home, where one spends the most time. Thus, the triangular layout was reworked to reflect this, with the kitchen, living and dining zones arranged in an open-plan style that looks out to a terrace with a view of the picturesque neighbourhood.