akiHAUS Design Studio redesigns a 50-year-old semi-detached house in Seletar Hills, seamlessly blending modern living solutions with the needs of a multi-generational family while preserving its vintage charm.
28 April 2025
Project type: Semi-detached house
Floor area: 3,310sqft
Text by Janice Seow
Instead of opting for a complete rebuild, Lawrence Puah, Design Director of akiHAUS Design Studio, adopted an adaptive reuse approach to revitalise this aging semi-detached house for a multi-generational family. Besides brightening the interiors and reconfiguring the layout to meet the family’s needs, he preserved its vintage charm, seamlessly integrating it into the home’s refreshed and distinctive character.
The ground floor’s original layout isolated the kitchen and grandparents’ bedroom from the dining room, restricting airflow and light distribution. Lawrence relocated the bedroom to the rear, creating a larger, brighter kitchen. Glass sliding doors now connect the dining area and kitchen, creating a seamless transition between spaces while enabling the grandmother, an avid cook, to enclose the kitchen for heavy cooking.
In the double-volume living room, louvres have been replaced with fixed glass panels that bring in abundant daylight. To increase the ceiling height at the dining area, Lawrence removed the timber ceiling panels and, in the process, discovered an interesting pattern of beams. Drawing inspiration from the curved profile of the mezzanine walls above the living area, he rounded the edges of the beams to create a coherent architectural language.
The staircase, featuring exposed reinforced concrete and timber treads, was retained to match the home’s architectural language. New mild steel handrails with glass infill enhance its lightness and transparency, highlighting the craftsmanship of the cantilevered design. The staircase seamlessly connects to the mezzanine study, reinforcing the cohesive vintage modern aesthetic.
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