How This Architect Designed a Multi-Level Garden Home on a Slope ¦ Singapore HouseTour ¦Architecture.

On the floor plans, this is just another semi-detached house, but once you step inside, it feels as though the house keeps unfolding. Every few steps, another garden appears. Another framed view, another double volume surprise, until before you realize it, you've climbed through an entire home that feels more like a walk through a garden than a house. Today, we're exploring Gardens of Sinai by Hyla Architects. My name is Alex Lee and I am from Design Seeds before we begin a friendly reminder if you're not clicking the subscribe button yet do it now and stay in the loop for more compelling design and architecture related contents from the moment you enter the house keeps you guessing the foyer is deliberately narrow and intimate but take a few steps up the staircase and suddenly everything everything opens up completely. The first floor reveals a dramatic double-volume living space, where ceiling-height glazing draws your eyes straight towards the landscape. A layer of garden sits immediately outside and beyond it. Mature trees rise from the park, the house doesn't reveal its connection to nature all at once. It unfolds gradually, from compression to openness, to a view that makes the entire living space feel larger than it actually is. Hi, I'm Nicholas Gomez, Director at HYLA Architects, and this is Gardens of Sinai. We named this house Gardens of Sinai after the site's namesake, Mount Sinai, a hilly estate in Singapore. The house is built on a 7-metre steep slope, and we designed it as a series of unfolding volumes and gardens ascending the slope. This family is about 6,008 square feet on a plot of 3,009. We're very fortunate to have this beautiful hillside site, which is very rare for Singapore. It faces a public park, however it is flanked by three houses on the other side. With the park, it was natural to have the entire front facade in glass, but glass actually can feel a bit too exposed and commercial for a house. So we introduced a series of staggered plant-filled balconies with grating Chiang Mai slats that created this warmer, more domestic layer and buffer to the rooms. So the clients had been living here for about 40 years before they came to us deciding to rebuild. So they had a very deep emotional connection to the site. They had an aspiration for a forever and timeless home in the rebuild for them to live in for the years to come. I think the original house was over 50 to 60 years old. We lived in it for 40 years before we decided to rebuild. It had two and a half storeys with several living spaces and rooms. which did not let in much natural light or breeze and a fairly sizable garden and driveway. My favourite space at home is definitely the main living room as my ceramics collection and favourite paintings are displayed there and it is fronted by a lush garden as well as the trees from the park opposite us. Up one level on the mezzanine, the dining area and dry kitchen sits beside a small garden courtyard that rises through the entire height of the house. And tucked just beside this courtyard is a dramatic powder room that still keeps the garden in sight. So we have gardens within, without, and all around us. So even in the bathrooms, we brought in nature into the property. In the front, actually, there are two toilets that face the front part. So we actually utilised the Shanghai screen that goes up a bit higher compared to the balustrade about 1.8 meters that forms like a semi almost courtyard-like space that allows the bath to have the garden view without needing blinds or or frosting the glass this powder room actually faces this beautiful courtyard so we actually didn't want to cover the glass or frost the glass and make it into a wall so we actually designed it like a separate cubicle for the private area and then the public area where you wash your hands we thought that it would be fine for someone to actually look at somebody in there but if you're doing a business you're actually tucked behind a wall the wet kitchen is located at the back where the full height glazing overlooks greenery alongside the house so there are actually three main design problems that we had to solve for this project so the first was how to deal with this very steep slope without having to spend a crazy amount of money on excavation the second because we have this beautiful park right in front of us was how to capture as much of a view of this park as possible and thirdly because we are surrounded by three neighbors was how to create privacy from them so the placement of the core was actually a very key starting point too far back and we would have to excavate a very deep basement that would be very costly if we place it too far forward it would have been cheaper for the basement but then the core will block all the views to the park. So we actually spent some time refining where we actually wanted to place the main circulation core. We eventually landed on placing the core about one third into the site and the staircase transfers back from the front and the back. So in the front, the staircase serves first three levels and at the back, the staircase serves last three levels. From there, we conceived the house as four stacked double height spaces that also follow the terrain and reduces the amount of excavation. We paired this with a 2.2 meter courtyard on the side of the party wall that also steps up the building and gives each common area a view to look at as well as linking them down to have sight lines to the park below. When we design a home, we often think about the bigger things. The layout, the furniture, the lighting. But what about the smaller details we use every day? For example, like power sockets, which can easily stand out in a carefully designed space. This episode is sponsored by Nexen, bringing smarter power solutions into beautifully designed spaces. What stands out to me is the Nexen Arise Collection, where elegance meets functionality. With customisable palettes and natural textures, your power points can seamlessly become part of the design. For something more refined, there's also the Luxe Collection. Nexen power tracks are family-friendly, easy to set up, and are both IEC standard and safety mark certified. Because good design isn't just about what you see, it's also about how seamlessly everything works together. Visit the Nexen showroom in Malaysia or Singapore today and discover how the Arise Collection can make power part of your home's design. Connecting the levels is a slim profile staircase with warm timber treads set against a slender frame. Its light, almost floating appearance keeps circulation open, allowing the architecture and greenery around it to remain the focus. On the second floor, the mood shifts in the parents' living area to a cosy retreat that feels distinctly personal, warm and lived-in. That warmth continues into the master bedroom, where timber floors soften the spaces and bring a more intimate feel to the upper levels. So the landscape for this house is actually very personal to the family. The parents are actually very avid gardeners and they actually kept some of the plants from the old house and they brought them to a nursery being transplanted while the new house was being constructed. And when it was finished, they actually brought some of the plants back. So it's like they brought a piece of memory from the old home into this new home. I continue to have plants that do not require too much maintenance. I continue to be on the lookout to make sure my plants are located in places that allow them to thrive on their own. I love lush leafy tropical plants and white flowers. Framed by greeneries on both sides, the space looks out towards the park at the front. while the study faces the courtyard and the dramatic volume that stretches the full height of the house keeping nature and light present from every angle and the sightline actually is a very key point of doing a very tall and long house because when you allow the sightline to link from the start to the end of the property it makes the house feel much bigger than it actually is so the courtyard in addition to that to bringing the light in to the property is also creating our own view for the occupants so actually if you see on the other side wall we have almost little to no openings so when you're in this place actually you don't see any of the neighbors all you just see is your own garden view and the front park view although actually the next neighbors actually just immediately right in your face beside the shower full height windows frame the curated landscape outside bringing a sense of nature right into the bathroom it's another small but thoughtful detail that makes the daily ritual feel a little more connected to the landscape want to learn more about how good design works join our design team membership program for only five us dollars and get behind the scenes access in-depth reels an exclusive handbook that breaks down technical design knowledge into practical tips you can apply to your own home the third floor takes on a more masculine character, with an entire level dedicated for the sun. A private living area, bedroom, spare room and his own pantry creates the feel of a self-contained apartment within the house itself. The private living area opens up to a generous ceiling height, providing views of the sky. The balcony overlooking the volumes below gives the top floor a quiet vantage point over the house. Towards the rear of the property, openings invite the breeze in. Air flows through the house naturally, creating cross-ventilation that keeps the upper levels feel light and comfortable. Together, these courtyards create a gradual ascent of spaces, gardens and views. When you move higher up the house, the views actually still open up to the park and the courtyards still bring in light, ventilation and greenery deep into the home. In Singapore, like Malaysia, our weather is either hot or wet. So we sheltered our courtyards with glass to keep the rain out. But we have large openings on both ends in the front and the back of the house so that heat is naturally drawn up, it escapes, and the plants are able to thrive and not overheat. The son's bedroom continues the darker masculine palette of this level, creating a quieter retreat. But beyond the room, the treetops stretch across the view, bringing a sense of openness. Even the powder room on this level is carefully considered. Rather than opening a window towards the neighbouring house, a skylight brings natural light into the space. In the attic, a spare room is designed with the future in mind. Overlooking the living room below, it can easily adapt as the family grows. We are now more able to balance our individual needs for privacy and communal activities in our multi-generational house. We are happy that our new house has enabled us to continue living in the same way we are used to, despite the completely new living spaces. To live in and around nature is actually a very beautiful part of living in a landed house and it's part of the whole human experience of biophilia and being happy, living in harmony with nature. So for us, nature isn't just something that we try to add on or force into our projects, but it's a very integral part of how we introduce light, ventilation, privacy, and make each home a special tranquil retreat for our clients. Although we are actually, for most of our projects, it's in the heart of very urban estates. What makes this house special is that it never tries to fight its terrain. Instead, Hyla Architects allowed the slope to shape the way the home is experienced, gradually unfolding on each level, revealing gardens, light and sky. Because in Gardens of Sinai, designing the terrain isn't simply about working with the land. It's about creating a home that lets a family experience nature in a different way every single day. If you enjoyed this episode and you want to learn more about interior design and architecture-related contents, Please click on the subscribe button to stay tuned for more compelling design and architecture related contents. My name is Alex Lee and I am from Design Seeds. Thank you for watching and I'll see you guys next week.