Singapore-based design studio Formwerkz Architects has designed the Apartment House. Completed in 2009, this three-storey contemporary property can be found in Singapore.

According to the architects the brief was: “The scale and programme of the house suggests more of a communal dwelling for a multi-tier family. The family called for a design that can accommodate a long wish list of desires of every members and the flexibility for change and expansion of the household.

“The strategy of the contemporary Singaporean house is organised in two linear volumes, split by a common pool in the middle but connected on the upper floors by the family space. The 2-storey volume houses the parents’ master en-suite on the upper floors, floating above the main living space. A lawn garden sits above on the roof. The three-storey block primarily, apart from the dining and kitchen on the ground floor, are tailored to the lifestyles of the three siblings yielding to their individual narratives.

“Apart from this long list of specifics, the contemporary Singaporean house design has to accommodate for change. This incidentally explains its relatively simple form and raw finish. At the macro scale, the two volumes can be sub-divided into two separate bungalow plots with minor alteration to the existing structures. Internally, the spaces are organised to be easily re-configurable as the service spaces and circulation are arranged neatly to one side. This allows most of the room to have high ceiling spaces (to the slab) without the need for a false ceiling.

“The challenge brought us to engage the very traditional Asian Concept of Multi-generation living in our  ageing society and to address the differences in habits, desires, taste or even the potential tensions between individuals or sub-families.”