Where craft meets home: A condo with walls that move

Designed by Office Of_,  this apartment demonstrates how thoughtful interventions can dramatically reshape the experience of an existing home without requiring a complete overhaul. Situated beside the Railway Corridor and surrounded by dense greenery, the unit enjoys an unusual sense of privacy and tranquillity. From its lower-floor position, views are framed almost entirely by trees, creating the impression of living within nature rather than in the middle of the city.

The homeowner, who works in the media industry and practises ceramics as a hobby, approached the renovation with a clear set of priorities. “The project responds to a distinct dual brief: accommodating a dedicated ceramic studio while maximising the spatial perception of a compact two-bedroom apartment,” describes designer Brian Khoo. “Rather than treating partitions as static barriers, the design introduces large, movable walls that function like theatrical flats.” As these panels glide across the layout, they continually reconfigure the interior, altering the home’s scenography as it shifts between the energy of an open, communal setting and the quiet solitude required for craft.

Equally important was the desire to replace the original enclosed kitchen with an open layout. The wider design language would be shaped by French doors, raw plywood finishes, and the owners’ growing collection of furniture, artworks, vintage accessories and handmade ceramics.

Rather than simply fulfilling the brief as presented, Office Of_ developed the design around the homeowner’s daily routines and creative practice. The original apartment followed a typical condominium layout, with clearly separated rooms linked by a narrow corridor. While functional, the arrangement felt compartmentalised and limited the sense of openness within the home.

The studio became the key opportunity for transformation. What began as a glazed enclosure with French doors was reconsidered as a more flexible system of plywood-and-glass panels. When closed, they give the homeowner a focused ceramic studio; when opened, they draw the act of making back into the living and dining areas.

A recurring theme throughout the apartment is the use of glass as a spatial device. Different glass textures – including fluted, frosted and patterned varieties – introduce changing layers of transparency, privacy and light. “Beyond mere division, these glass apertures act as curatorial vitrines, with some frames subtly highlighting the owner’s ceramic work, while others functioning as elegant indicators of occupancy,” explains Brian.

At the centre of the home, the dining area acts as both social hub and display gallery. Open shelving showcases the homeowner’s ceramic creations alongside collected objects, while the shelving merges with the studio’s sliding panels. A purpleheart timber slab forms the dining table, detailed to appear as though it grows directly out from the adjacent island.

Much of the apartment’s original fabric – including parquet flooring, skirtings and timber elements – was retained. To bridge these existing finishes with the deep purple tones of the dining table, the kitchen introduces burgundy backsplash tiles paired with brown patterned floor tiles. Birch plywood carpentry finished in a mahogany stain further balances the palette, extending warmth, grain and texture throughout the home.

The kitchen itself was reconfigured around efficiency and visual clarity. Larger appliances were carefully concealed to maintain a compact appearance, while the combination of quartz surfaces, handcrafted tiles and custom plywood joinery gives the space a rich material character.

Throughout the apartment, the design avoids unnecessary additions, instead focusing on a handful of carefully considered moves that transform how the home is experienced. By rethinking movement, sightlines and the relationship between making and living, Office Of_ has created a home that feels simultaneously functional, expressive and deeply personal.

Office Of_
www.officeof.ooo
www.instagram.com/officeof_/

Photography by Studio Ikura

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