A Gentle Case For Sustainable Living

Rooted in memory yet designed for the future, this house by Yume Architects redefines family life through connection, conservation and conscious design

- 

In the northwest of Singapore, a once-humble single-storey semidetached home has been lovingly transformed into a luminous three-level residence that celebrates both the past, as well as the promise of new beginnings.

Designed by Yume Architects, Linked Terraces is a study in restraint and renewal, a family home that folds memory, nature and connection into its very structure.

“Our clients were very emotionally attached to the old house as it was where their three daughters spent their early childhood years,” shares Asami Takahashi, principal architect and co-founder of Yume Architects. The homeowners wanted to preserve that sense of intimacy, even as they needed more space.

Rather than demolish and rebuild, the design team proposed a more sustainable and sentimental approach, conserving the front of the existing house while adding a three-storey rear extension.

This decision, Takahashi explains, shaped every subsequent design move. And while it was “a conscious and more difficult” path, it ultimately allowed them to embed the family’s history into the new structure, rather than erase it.

DESIGNED FOR CONNECTION