House Between Light

House Between Light is conceived as an architecture shaped by the filtering, moderation, and movement of light through space. Situated on a narrow and elongated urban site on Singapore’s east side, the four-storey bungalow draws inspiration from the climatic intelligence of traditional shophouse typologies, where courtyards and air wells were introduced to bring daylight and ventilation deep into dense floor plates.

Organised across three spatial bands, the house negotiates varying degrees of exposure, privacy, and openness through layered environmental thresholds. Along the front elevation, a slim-tile double skin façade forms a permeable edge against the morning sun. This ventilated screen filters heat and glare while allowing softened daylight to enter the internal living spaces.

At the centre of the house, a triple-volume staircase and water courtyard form the environmental core of the project. Conceived as a vertical light well and connective void, this space draws daylight deep into the interior while facilitating natural ventilation and visual continuity across multiple storeys. As light shifts throughout the day, the stair becomes an atmospheric threshold mediating movement, shadow, reflection, and air.

Toward the rear, the architecture gradually dissolves into the garden and pool through angled vertical screens and planted Vernonia elliptica creepers. Together, these layers form a porous veil that filters western light, softens visual exposure, and creates privacy without relying on rigid enclosure.

Rather than treating light as a static condition, the project constructs a domestic environment shaped by filtered illumination, shifting shadow, and environmental porosity — a house experienced through the spaces between light.