No 86

The property in Singapore’s Luxury Island Resort of Sentosa Cove is built on a long narrow plot with views to the rear of the Sentosa Golf Course.  The design inspiration for the house was a traditional Japanese courtyard house, with rooms spilling onto terraces that surround a central courtyard garden. The courtyard becomes the primary focus of the home and an integral visual element for each room.  With no sea views, water was used as the primary element in the courtyard landscape design to reference the seaside location of the house.  A large reflecting pond in the courtyard and the swimming pool at the rear were built to wrap around the house, with shading by a trellis roof that spatially integrates the external courtyard with the surrounding rooms.  

The front elevation of the house consisted of two blocks clad with groove-cut travertine marble and a large teak picture frame to mark the entrance.  The external marble cladding is brought inside the home, blurring the line between the interior and exterior of the house.  By separating the gym and study wing, the idea was to open up the house to get glimpses of the golf course behind, and give the feeling of living in a resort garden oasis rather than a typical house. A suspended staircase set against a feature wall of groove-cut travertine marble links the courtyard with the study and master bedroom balcony. The staircase and entry hall is another focal point of the house with their double height ceiling and bridge leading from the stairs to the bedrooms.