A play on the Japanese word “Naru” meaning “become”, and the Malay word “Ruma” meaning “home”, “Naruma” translates to an aspiration for the project to truly become home for the residents. Located in Singapore, which has a colonial past, the trio of houses took on the form of urban townhouses; appropriate forms that invoke the nostalgic ties to the memory yet were re-interpreted with modern construction syntax and old barnyard brick work.

The result is a delightful interplay of penetrable spatial and visual transparencies. There is a simplicity and honesty in the design of Naruma, in the inherent beauty of the materials, and the effortless quality of free-flowing space that quietly and elegantly fills the functions of home.