PUBLISHED August 7th, 2020 06:00 am | UPDATED July 22nd, 2024 05:42 pm
Picture a house in your mind and it’s almost certain to be rectilinear – squarish walls, boxy roof, compact lines and right angles. This is especially true in land-starved Singapore, where not cutting corners means using the little square of land you possess to the fullest.
Which is why, if you happen to be strolling past the neat rows of semi-detached houses along Jalan Seaview in East Coast, you might do a double take at the corner house. Dramatically flowing with curves and spirals, Stiletto House is a sensuous vision beside its more boxy neighbours – a masterclass, by local architectural firm EHKA Studio, in thinking outside the box.
Stiletto House sprawls out over five storeys – a grand but otherwise unsurprising fact, until you realize that it’s located in a two-storey residential zone. Working within constraints set by Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), the EHKA team devised a basement for entertainment and an attic above the main bedroom suite. Most ingenuously of all, they dreamed up a mezzanine floor crafted entirely of glass. Perched above the ground level, this floating space makes a perfect showbox for the owner’s antiques collection, yet manages to preserve the lofty feel of the kitchen area below.
Indeed, it’s an abode that quite literally pushes boundaries. The owner’s brief was to maximise his house’s internal floor area, and the EHKA team delivered with rooms and balconies all pushed to the very edges of URA’s required setbacks from the common boundaries. The final floor area clocks in at an expansive 9,300 sqft – remarkable for a 4,500-sqft plot of land.
From every angle, the house seduces the eye with sensual curves. Offering welcome shade at the entranceway is a pair of curved overhangs which taper gracefully into their supporting columns, forming stiletto-like silhouettes.
“We didn’t specifically seek to introduce a ‘stiletto’ – it just developed as we sought a design solution that worked structurally and formally,” explains EHKA Studio director Hsu Hsia Pin. “The name ‘Stiletto House’ came about only after we designed it.” A sinuous, wave-like set of steps echoes these curves from below, while lush planters enhance our sense of entering a sleek tropical resort.
The interior is just as cutting-edge as the facade, if only metaphorically – the same curves run freely throughout the house. Egg-shaped lamps stand beside whimsically arched chairs, side tables resembling sassy clusters of stiletto heels are dotted through the house – all pieces from the owner’s collection of ultra-modern furniture. Over the dining table, a cloud-shaped ceiling lamp floats ethereally. Spiraling dramatically across the double-volume hall is a pure white staircase with curved glass railings, visible even from outside through the full-length glass façade.
Glass is clearly a hallmark of this bright, airy space, though a counter-intuitive one – in sunny Singapore, the house would warm up fast. Rather than beating the heat with air-conditioning, the EHKA team went the sustainable route with an arsenal of passive cooling strategies. The use of low-emissive glass filters out UV rays, while sliding glass doors offer cross-ventilation from the north and east. Running around the entire perimeter is a pool and water overflow wall to cool the surrounding air. Plus, what better excuse than the heat to take a dip?
Stiletto House is located at Jalan Seaview, Singapore. Check out more of EHKA Studio’s projects here.
All photos courtesy of Studio Periphery and Dan Loo.