Located in the centre of Singapore, Niven Road is an intimate residential neighborhood situated between Little India and Orchard Road, Mount Emily Park and the Middle Road arts and entertainment district. A once charming and bustling residential community with a stylish cinema, late night eateries, a hilltop park with a public swimming pool, prestigious Chinese and English medium schools, and home to the Singapore Sikh community. In the first half of the 20th century, Chinese, Indians, Malays, Eurasians, Jews and Sikhs lived side by side. With the new MRT stations nearby and the up and coming arts and entertainment district, optimism is growing in the small community. Niven Road could be transformed into a vibrant urban edge where young and old, local and foreign, affluent and modest can create a community that is relevant to their time and place.
The Niven Road Studio is a historic secondary settlement conservation site where the existing 2 storey building is conserved with a tall rear extension comprising a Basement, Three Stories and an Attic.
The tall rear extension provides a new back entrance at the hilltop while the main entrance remains on the fully preserved front façade facing the heritage street at ground level. The conservation strategy of juxtaposing old and new develops the project in to a 21st century heritage building. Designed for minimum visual impact from the heritage street, the rear extension comprises three levels of double height space screened from the East and West sun by deep vertical fins.
Beyond the old and new exterior, the architecture presents a rich duality spatial experiences formed by the architectonics of the load bearing off form concrete walls against the existing dual tone red brick walls and the ventilated terracotta roof tiles. The rawness of the materials is presented against the fine detailing of metal, wood and glass elements that enrich one’s experience through the house.
WOWHAUS is a house for ideas and creative exploration derived from
exchanges between artists, architects, designers, craftsmen,
developers, product specialists, and thinkers in an era of information
technology and environmental awareness.
WOWHAUS was established to encourage creative exploration and
cross disciplinary collaboration.
最初,我们把Niven Road Studio构想成一个现代化的都市家庭办公室,直到该处被确立为历史保护场地后,我们在那里执行全面都市化计划的期望不得不告终。根据规定,现有的建筑物须予以保留,但可在后方增加较高的扩建部分。
在二十年间,因为经济状况和城市限制不断变化,建筑设计经历了几番修改,最终演变成一座附设后方扩建部分的21世纪文物建筑。为减少在历史街道上造成视觉冲突,后方扩建部分的设计由三层双倍高度的空间组成,外墙上有一系列可操作的穿孔幕墙隔板,以遮挡在早上和傍晚来自东、西方的直射阳光。幕墙系统包括小型的花架,让攀缘植物在垂直肋板系统的支持下往上生长,形成绿意盎然、悦目和谐的建筑外观。