A LIVING LEGACY

Woods Bagot elegantly reimagines an iconic black-and-white house at 9 Goodwood Hill by fusing colonial heritage with Nanyang nuances

- Asih Jenie

In Singapore's architectural lexicon, few typologies are as romanticised—or as rigorously preserved—as the black-and-white bungalow.

Built in the early 20th century for colonial administrators and military officers, these mock-Tudor structures were adapted to the tropics with wide verandahs, high ceilings, and louvred windows. Today, they stand as stately relics of a bygone era, monuments to British colonial ambition now recontextualised as some of the city’s most coveted luxury properties.

Among them is this storied residence at 9 Goodwood Hill. Set on 66,202 sq ft of land with an estimated gross floor area of 7,421 sq ft, it is nestled in one of the most pristine clusters of 26 conserved bungalows in Singapore. The property, which was leased in a two-year tenure through a competitive public bidding process under the stewardship of the Singapore Land Authority, became the temporary home of a young family whose main residence in Sentosa Cove was undergoing a massive renovation.

“There was something instinctive about it. When I saw 9 Goodwood Hill, I knew it could hold our family’s story,” shares the lady of the house. With only weeks to complete the interior overhaul, the owners turned to Woods Bagot. Tasked with transforming the colonial shell into a refined sanctuary suitable for a family with a newborn and a toddler, the Singapore arm of the global design studio took on the challenge with calibrated grace and a deep respect for heritage. “The house already had so much presence,” says Sherry Goh, the interior designer at Woods Bagot who helmed the project. “Our role was to craft a narrative within it—one that respected its heritage while adapting it to a new way of living.”

COLONIAL, RECAST