Recalibrating Space
How can the typical apartment plan be reconfigured to allow alternate modes of habitation and interaction, and the feeling of more space? Calvin Chua, founder of Spatial Anatomy, transformed the corridor of his family’s HDB unit into a space to dwell. We discuss his strategy and the potential for high-density housing to do more.
Narelle Yabuka (NY) What drove you to reimagine the plan of this Housing & Development Board (HDB) apartment?
Calvin Chua (CC) There were two factors. Firstly, it was the functional need for storage as we had accumulated a lot of items – especially books – over the years. And since the apartment was also meant to be a home office, we envisioned that more storage space would be required over time. Secondly, it was a reaction against the typical plans of recent HDB apartments, where living spaces have been so efficiently compartmentalised that there is a specific way to place the furniture. Any attempt to transform the spatial qualities of the apartment would either be skin-deep or would require the enlargement of the living room at the expense of a bedroom.
We saw the original corridor of the apartment as a four-metrelong leftover space. We wondered: can the corridor be an element that reorganises the spatial configuration of the apartment and becomes the main storage space? We reduced the bedroom size slightly and created a 90-centimetre-thick central spine comprising a continuous bookshelf facing the corridor, and wardrobes and airconditioning units facing the bedrooms. As a result, the corridor, which was previously a residual leftover space, became usable – a space for storage, for browsing, for reading, for dressing up.
The original layout of the kitchen had a strange protrusion into the living room. Instead of hacking it away, we decided to accentuate it by enlarging it slightly – to fit a refrigerator at the entrance of the kitchen – and enclose it with a full-height swing door with a plywood finish. By embracing and accentuating what seemed to be an imperfection in the layout, the enclosure became the main feature of the living room.
NY The reduction of bedroom size suggests an emphasis on family togetherness rather than individual space. Was that an intent?
CC Yes. Reducing the size of the bedrooms (particularly the master bedroom) prevents the placement of other furniture and equipment apart from the bed. This in turn encourages family members to spend time together in the living room rather than the bedroom.
The more furniture one has in the bedroom, the more the bedroom becomes a self-sufficient ‘house within a house’.
This was evident when I was staying with housemates in the
UK, where even though we were living under the same roof, we sometimes didn’t interact with each other for days. While I don’t think we should draw a direct correlation between the apartment layout and family life, I do think the size and layout of an apartment has an impact on how the inhabitants interact.
NY What sorts of living patterns do you think are encouraged by the typical HDB unit and estate plans in Singapore?
CC The typical plans of many HDB apartments being built today favour a very private form of living between neighbours, and even between family members. The layouts are highly efficient. The residual space (i.e. the corridor) of the apartment has been reduced to the bare minimum – five per cent of the total floor area of a typical four-room flat. However, the efficient distribution of rooms along the corridor and separation from the living room also means that family members are able to work on their own activities without interrupting one another.
This is very different from HDB apartments designed before the turn of the millennium, where the bedrooms open up into the living room and the living room faces the public corridor. Such layouts allow opportunities for informal interaction between family members and neighbours. For example, the simple act of walking from the bedroom to the toilet would cross the living room and potentially trigger conversations between family members.
However, with current efforts in promoting multi-generational living, we may witness a return to a more communal and neighbourly living environment. Case study projects such as Kampung Admiralty demonstrate the possibility of creating a multiple layers of social spaces integrated within public facilities.
NY What more could our housing do for us?
CC While boundaries have been pushed in terms of programmatic diversity at the scale of the housing estate (with public facilities and civic spaces), the typology and programmatic functions of the apartment remain largely unchanged. As a result, the apartment is typically treated either as a place of habitation or a real estate asset. Perhaps, more variations in the programmatic and spatial configuration of the apartment would allow for a wider definition and appreciation of the ‘value’ of housing.
In particular, housing could respond to changing social demographics and work patterns, such as the rise of freelance work and start-up trends. This would require flexibility in the layout and the ability for spaces to expand and contract over time – to be adaptable to different businesses and production spaces. For example, could more flexible B1 industrial-type spaces be designed as part of the housing stock?
NY What would give our housing stock resilience for long-term use into the future?
CC In order for our housing stock to last for a long time, its measured ‘value’ needs to outweigh the economic ‘value’ that can be achieved through land intensification – i.e. demolition and reconstruction as a result of enhanced plot ratio and consequentially more sellable floor area.
Currently, the case against adaptation is the high cost and low financial yield. As a result, most of the adaptive reuse projects are buildings of historical significance and are typically located within the central area. This would require regulatory support for the programmatic flexibility of housing, new home ownership models, and a structural framework that allows for easy adaptation.
“[H]ousing could respond to changing social demographics and work patterns... This would require flexibility in the layout and the ability for spaces to expand and contract over time.” Calvin Chua.