Oneiric House

The dreamlike meets the quotidian with this residence in a quiet neighborhood in surburban Singapore.

A sheltered colonnade and a winding back alley form the primary approaches to this house. As visitors ascend the sloped site, they are met with a semi-public garden where the subtle shift of the equatorial sun are drawn out, inviting you in.

The private residence is demarcated by a rough concrete dividing wall, with occupants moving along it to access living space, a bedroom on the highest floor, and a cavernous bathroom below grade.

This comprehensive studio by Ensemble’s founder focused on developing approaches of understanding matter through data. This included 3D site scanning, advanced visualization, but also thorough research of concrete technologies and building systems.

Formally, the Oneiric House breaks away from semi-detached house typology, with an infusion of the kind of shared public space found in shophouses and public housing.

The generous offering of a shared garden to the neighborhood and passersby is defined by a thin-shell concrete exterior and a single-foil ETFE cable roof. This allows sunlight and fresh air into the space, but keeps it dry from the region’s torrential rains.

A solar skylight encloses the private portion of the residence, between the party wall and the rough dividing wall. This allows light to find its way down to the depths of the house, with operable portions allowing for ventilation heat management. These passive strategies are supplemented by an integrated, micro-capillary radiant wall and ceiling panels.

In the nature of a comprehensive studio, these decisions were made in consultation with MEP and structural engineers.