Seeing the Forest Through the Living Room

February 23, 2010 by


Green walls enclose living area of Elot House

The owner of this urban garden house expressed his dream about living in a “forest” setting amidst the urbanized city of Singapore and his architect, Chang Yong Ter of Chang Architects,  interpreted the dream. In lieu of adding the landscaping after completion of the house, this one was conceived as a three-dimensional landscape installation, whereby the spaces were then placed into the landscape.


Decent exposure? The kitchen looks out onto the street

One moves through a series of interchangeable rooms that fit into a terrace plot with a 2-storey high retaining wall at the rear that becomes a pebbled waterfall opening up to the sky. Below, a rainwater-collecting pond envelops the living area.


The kitchen with its grove of trees pushing up through the floor

Within and throughout the house, a rich variety of unique urban garden scenarios have been implemented: a kitchen entrance that is a grove of trees and a 2-storey internal enclosure of vertical living walls of fern that extend into the living spaces with moss and pebble entrances to bedrooms.


Inside-out: The green wall behind the bed compliments the exterior one through the window

The design has a living, organic quality, where plants grow and mature, and the scent of wet earth fills the air. The layout and utilization of plant and water elements maintain a cool microclimate within the house, reducing the need for air-conditioning and artificial lighting.


The living walls extend up to the rooftop terrace

In sync with nature, the client’s dream has evolved into a living house where the boundaries of indoor and out blend together to form a green haven, a verdant urban oasis.

via worldarchitecturenews.com

10 Comments »

  1. Matti said:

    I would happily volunteer for a gardening position in order to keep quarters there. Stunning. Is it in Singapore? Matti

    — February 23, 2010 @ 13:32

  2. Megan said:

    OMG!!!! I’m on board with Matti. As long as we can bring Max the Border Collie with us.

    — February 24, 2010 @ 00:40

  3. Victoria said:

    Luscious, lush, love it!

    — February 24, 2010 @ 12:58

  4. rebecca sweet said:

    Love it! Though I’m not sure my mow-and-blow guy could manage this garden without completely destroying my whole house! 😉

    — February 24, 2010 @ 13:02

  5. Robert Webber said:

    Boarding a plane to fly over and take possession of this house and garden as I type!

    — February 25, 2010 @ 03:07

  6. Seeing the Forest Through the Living Room « The Hegarty Webber Partnership Blog Pingback said:

    […] 2010 Seeing the Forest Through the Living Room Posted by Lesley under 1 Leave a Comment  Seeing the Forest Through the Living Room. […]

    — February 25, 2010 @ 11:15

  7. Is it a house or a garden? Its both! « The Hegarty Webber Partnership Blog Pingback said:

    […] Click here:     Seeing the Forest Through the Living Room. […]

    — February 25, 2010 @ 20:06

  8. Rothschild Orchid said:

    Wow! Love it!

    — February 26, 2010 @ 07:00

  9. noemi bayawa said:

    i live in a forest area. your house is truly amazing, and i like it. one question though, how do you maintain it, free from pests and diseases.
    am trying to make a tiny mini forest in my small rooftop.

    — March 22, 2010 @ 08:51

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    […] Imagine: the sun sets and your sleek lounge chair lights up casting a soft glow throughout your outdoor living room. […]

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