Cut Into Pitches

A minor setback turns into a major gain for this landed home in sunny Singapore.

- Jade Ang

Suburban residential neighbourhoods often exude a sense of uniformity even if the houses are not all identical in appearance. Homes within a community will usually share some common traits such as roofing, colour schemes and similar layouts. This six-bedroom, three-storey home is an entirely unexpected sight amid the typical residential neighbourhood filled with conventional double-storey dwellings. Featuring plenty of sharp protruding pitched rooflines and monochromatic hues, the house definitely stands out with its unique shape amongst its peers but still manages to still blend in with the rest of the blocks thanks to its subtle palette.

At first glance, the façade appears to adopt a minimalist look with its colour scheme but then the variation in height, angle and shades pique even a stranger’s interest. It draws you in for a second look although like most minimalist homes, it takes on a simple cubic configuration. Serving more than just for aesthetic purposes, each design element of the façade has a functional sensibility; the pitched roof planes tilt away from the western sun, sheltering the house from the blazing tropical heat while the multiple gaps between the walls and roof planes provide light and ventilation for the house.