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We don’t do themes in Habitus. But if I were pressed to find one in this second issue of the new-look Habitus, it would be: making the most of what you’ve got.
In her profile of Singaporean interior designer, Angie Chan, Lynn Tan points out that the size of apartments in Singapore is growing smaller due to the lack of land. It is a phenomenon seen all over the world – first seen in Japan where architects have become masters in maximising the amenity of minimal spaces.
Angie Chan (#85) is one person who has made it her mission to optimise the potential of small apartments. Juliana Chan (#109), on the other hand, used her own home on the west coast of Singapore as a unique challenge, radically modifying a 1980s apartment to give it an enhanced sense of space by removing walls and the ceiling, and by creating a high degree of connectivity both internally and with the outside by borrowing the landscape.
In Sydney, architect Anthony Gill (#131) took a small, but classic apartment by Harry Seidler and, on a miniscule budget, turned it into a comfortable and elegant inner suburban home. Like Juliana Chan, Gill has maximised practical space, with great creative flair.
Meanwhile, back in Bangkok, architects, Tonkao Panin and Thanakarn Mokasmith (#175), have picked up on a growing trend to re-invent the traditional South-East Asian compound house as a home for the extended family. This trend involves multiple dwellings on the same site, thus maximising land use while keeping up to four generations of a family living together. The trick is how to marry communal living with the levels of privacy which a younger generation prefers.
And there are other examples in this issue involving clever planning, sustainable strategies and adaptive re-use. It may not be a deliberate theme in the magazine, but it does highlight the kind of innovative design which is making our region one the major creative hotspots in the world, especially in the light of growing environmental and societal pressures.
PAUL MCGILLICK | EDITOR
Habitus Magazine is the Asia Pacific authority of choice for Design Hunters® looking for the special in design and architecture and products, providing an exclusive view into the regions most beautiful homes.
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