A HOUSE OF AND FOR ART
Where do the lines of art and architecture become clear? In the design of this house by HYLA Architects, it does not intend to.
The houses designed by HYLA Architects are known for their strong connection with the outdoors, created through lush internal courtyards and greened facades. They are made for comfortable living in the tropics and respond to Singapore’s dense residential fabric by turning views inward to become retreats from street bustle and close neighbors. Sculpted Space — a bungalow whose art collector-owner lives with his wife and son — embodies these aspects. But there is more.
“In this project, we were given a chance to explain the relationship between art and architecture, and by extension, between art and living. We asked the question: If architecture is art, how can we relate to it? Here, we wanted to blur the distinction between the art that is displayed and the container that displays it. Oscar Wilde wrote: ‘Life imitates art far more than art imitates life’. This is our version of it. Rather than merely a passive container, the house becomes an active participant in the dialogue between user, environment, and art,” says the firm’s founder Han Loke Kwang.
These ruminations translate into a façade that reads as a kit of parts. A timber-wrapped cantilevering car porch canopy is backed by a timber-latticed façade, and a striking patinated brass cylinder containing a spiral staircase with peephole windows marks the corner like a castle turret. A concrete screen that travels inwards along the pool’s length as suns-shading device frames the latter.
“We designed each architectural element of the house as a piece of art – bold, vigorous, expressive. Although all the elements are individually vivid, they are slightly set back to appear in layers, one after another telling the story of the space. As the main body of the house is expressed in a solid off-form concrete volume, we chose timber in front as a more delicate welcoming gesture to prevent the architecture from being too cold,” says Han.
The brass staircase’s sculptural quality and the bold shadow-and-sunlight theatrics on the pool formed by the row of rhythmic concrete fin enclosure can be admired from the parallel open-plan foyer, living area, and dry kitchen. Plants peek in from the side of the fins and line the bottom, greening the view. “The spiral staircase
is designed as a piece of sculpture sitting in the water, like a statue welcoming the visitor in a gallery. Similar to art, which always have different [stratums] of meaning, we wanted to give the staircase’s roof not just a functional design, but also a more sophisticated form and analogy — that of a stairway to heaven,” explains Han on the architectural object’s jagged top.
Behind the dry kitchen and adjacent dining room is a second staircase that is as dramatic as the first, but in a different way. Bookshelves line its perimeter, illuminated by a skylight that brightens the interior of the deep, 48-metre-long plan. A Flos geometric Arrangement chandelier from XTRA accentuates the light well’s verticality and is itself a piece of floating sculpture. Timber in this home is artfully employed throughout, from the doors, ceilings and screens to a backdrop for artwork and artistic, monochromatic photographs of the owner and his son at Jujitsu sparring.
Above the living room, the owners have designed generous square footage to a double-height art gallery. It is more for the owner’s personal appreciation than for streams of guests. The owner previously stayed in an apartment and could not showcase much of his collection sourced from regional and local galleries such as Ode to Art and Mulan Gallery. This space allows him to finally put them up; pieces that had been relegated to storage straight after purchase.
A mezzanine running along its length lets one view art from a different vantage. Unlike a white box gallery, the off-form concrete walls evoke a less esoteric ambience. “The choice of concrete not only provides an ideal background for the artworks, but is also timeless and requires absolutely zero maintenance,” says Han.
The idea of architecture as art once again becomes apparent in the barrel vault ceiling. The design was derived from the need to bring as much light into the space as possible while avoiding direct sunlight casting on the artwork. The curves reflect light from two rows of skylights down to the gallery. Evenly spaced, slim windows punctuate the sidewalls, letting in some light in while leaving sufficient wall space for hanging art.
The owner’s impeccable taste for art, which comprises largely of Southeast Asian art such as the pottery of Singaporean ceramicist Iskandar Jamil, extends to the furniture. They were thoughtfully chosen to enhance the mood and function of the rooms in which they were placed. For example in the art gallery, a Riva 1920 giant clothes peg-like Bench Molletta from Proof Living dissolves distinction between art and design; a quirky blue-and-navy Moroso My Beautiful Backside sofa from XTRA colours the neutral white master bedroom. These touches harmonise with Han’s architecture, creating a Gesamtkunstwerk that elevates the domestic everyday into a visual and phenomenological feast.