Home For Life

THE SAYING "a family who eats together, stays together" could not be more true for the Tan brothers. The pair, who are both in their forties, have always lived together. The elder brother works in medical IT, while the younger brother is a pilot.

The brothers grew up in a semi-detached house located in the Loyang area. When they were in their late teens, the family moved into a flat, and the house was rented out.

A few years, when the elder brother got married, the family decided perhaps it was time to move back into the house, to accommodate the growing family. "We wanted to still live together, but there wasn't enough room in the flat," says the elder brother. The younger brother adds, "Dad felt it would be nice if everyone still lived under the same roof."

Architect Foo Yong Kai, who runs his eponymous firm, designed the new home, which looks like a single house on the outside, but in fact is two houses, one for each brother. In the first house, the living room and dining area are where the brothers, their father, and the elder brother's wife have their meals together on most evenings. At the back of the house on the ground floor, is the father's bedroom which has its own private garden.

The younger brother's bedroom and study are on the second floor, while up in the attic, is a family room with an outdoor terrace. There is a yellow swing out here, the same one that the brothers used to spend hours on when they were kids. Back on the second storey, a discreet door slides open to reveal the second house, where the elder brother and his wife live.

This second home also has its own private entrance, a cosy living area and a small kitchen. There are three bedrooms in this house, one for the couple while the remaining two are ready to welcome kids in the near future.

Mr Foo describes his design as two pristine monolithic blocks. Each block - housing the brothers' bedrooms - is perched on top of a red brick base where the communal spaces are located and merge with the landscape.

The design of the rooms are loosely guided by the classical principle of prospect and refuge. The living, dining and family rooms where the family gather have wide, expansive glass doors that slide and fold open to embrace the landscape. Bedrooms have small windows for privacy. "We deliberately scaled down the house, so that it would not look out of place in the neighbourhood," says Mr Foo. For example, the dimensions of rooms, doors, windows and such are kept modest and comfortable, built no bigger than they need to be.

Mr Foo adds that for this home, "sustainability strives not to be a buzz word but rather a matter-of-fact and essential way of building." To reduce energy consumption, the internal spaces are planned as a collection of rooms, which can be air-conditioned individually, surrounded by staircases which are left naturally ventilated.

Even the bathrooms are designed to be naturally ventilated, and have plants to provide privacy. "The old bathrooms had poor ventilation, so when we rebuilt the house, we toyed with the idea of making them open," says the younger brother. Since the family moved in, they have had birds, bats and squirrels often come inside to visit.

The design of the entire 4,000 sq ft house is fairly simple, but what makes it special, is that it has been designed in and around the garden. "The house is a composition in concrete, brick, paint and plants," says Mr Foo.

Speaking of plants, all the landscaping in the home was designed by the older brother, who runs a landscaping design firm on the side. The greenery comes so close to the home that in some spots, the plants look as if they have taken over the house. Rather than have manicured lawns, a gravelled pathway connects the front to the back of the house. "Walking on gravel feels more natural," says the older brother.

The two tight-knit brothers say that their father left the design of the new home largely to them. "But he had great input. He was the one who had the vision to buy this house way back then. Otherwise we wouldn't be here today," says the younger brother.