Putting Up Walls

PRIVACY IS AT A PREMIUM when you're hemmed in by buildings on either side but when faced with the realities of urban living in land-scarce Singapore, homeowners can usually be relied upon to come up with creative solutions to their new housing projects.

Take the Tang residence off Upper Serangoon Road, for example. After acquiring a tired-looking 1950s terrace house just a few doors down from their existing home, Celia Tai and husband KC Tang decided to demolish the existing two-story building and replace it with something a little more contemporary.

Their brief to Casey Chua of ADX Architects was to come up with a design that was spacious, comfortable and filled with natural light. More importantly, they wanted it be surrounded by greenery - not a simple task when your neighbours are mere metres away.