Ittka House | Fabian Tan Architects

This house is a double storey intermediate terrace house which sits on a 7m (23’) width by 26m (85’) land size. The previous design was typical.

The limitation of the site and ideas explored led to the reversal of the floor arrangement. Thus, the first floor became the living space, whilst the ground floor became the bedrooms.  The transition between the floors attempts to unify and provide connections between the private and the social spaces of the house. Resulting contrasts between the more solid enclosed bedrooms on the ground and the “roof deck” living spaces on the first floor inverts the tension between the interior and the exterior of the house, creating a visual expansion. The main circulation space connecting the bedrooms are double volume, outlining the first floor spaces of living, dining and kitchen to be a continuous open space. Skylights provide the interior with natural light, reflective of the day’s mood and time.

Elements of nature and privacy are evident. The courtyard tree is a focal point to the bedrooms with large sliding doors to create shifts of privacy and openness when required. A large 6m door at the end of the main corridor opens to a private garden. The living room at the front opens to a roof garden which is private from street level view.

Basic material finishes were chosen with restraint, so as not to accentuate any part of the whole. The intent is to create a calm space defined purely by volume, depth and light.