Gallery / House
This is a small building, with two programs—a house and an art gallery—squeezed into a very dense envelope, in the midst of Singapore's red light district.
The design attempted to balance this double life through a play of two blocks. The lower block contains a triple-height gallery and kitchen. The upper is a rotated tower, which appears to float below the ceiling of the gallery; this holds the bedrooms and private spaces. The building has been designed such that the client can open the gallery to the public via a separate access.
The Gallery House sits in a typical Singaporean lot, between two very long party walls. In order to bring natural light deep into the interior, a series of small gardens have been carved from the facade and roofline. This creates a complex series of nested spaces, merging the interior with tropical landscape. Rooms are surprisingly located and shaped, partially overlapping with others or sharing views of interior canyon spaces. The largest of these contains the main stair, which winds casually between rooms at the front and back.
Photo by Darren Soh