PROJECT #13 | STUDIO WILLS + Architects

PROJECT #13 is a renovation to a 30-year old HDB FLAT in Singapore. The project seeks to re-examine the ‘interface’ between the flat and the public corridor, create a sense of space within a MICRO-FLAT, address the requirements of 2 PROGRAMS (an OFFICE and a HOME), and achieve a ‘framework’ to enable the FUTURE-PROOFING of the flat. 

Nested in a public housing block served by common corridors; such corridors were originally envisioned as social interaction spaces. However over time many units facing these corridors were observed to have their curtains permanently drawn over its windows as a result of the changing behavioural patterns with increased need for privacy of its occupants; The result is a disconnection between the unit and the corridor, its occupants and their neighbours. 

The introduction of a foyer, as the first space off the corridor, resulted in a ‘buffer zone’ between the public and private domains and 2 separate entry points enabling the spaces within to OPERATE INDEPENDENTLY. The need to accommodate the functional requirements of the office and home, lead to CO-SHARING of facilities and SPACE-SAVING strategies of compacting functions at strategic locations. Louvered windows and epoxy flooring, commonly found in such flats, were adopted throughout the interior to assimilate the flat with its ‘neighbours’. Internally, surfaces were kept white for daylight reflection with accents of timber for a warm appearance. 

The result is a new flat that re-engages the corridor in varying degrees of openness and privacy, an interior of contrasting spaces which is open yet intimate and a ‘framework’ that allows EASY READAPTATION for a VARIETY OF USES (office and home) and a VARIETY OF USE PATTERNS (one or more households) within a formerly single-use residential unit. 

PROJECT #13, while small in scale, hopes to serve as impetus for the REPURPOSING of a HDB flat where more than 80% of Singapore’s population resides, sustaining it over the course of the building’s life.