Residential Revamp: Garden, Floor & Airwell
Budget: $100 – $300 USD
Design Brief for Second Opinion
Project Type: Residential — 3 storey Terrace House
1. Objective
To seek a creative second opinion on the spatial and visual design of three key architectural areas:
- Side Garden
- Middle Section of the 1st Floor
- Airwell Area
The intent is to enhance these zones through improved aesthetics, spatial flow, natural lighting, ventilation, and vertical visual integration—ensuring they are both beautiful and buildable within the ongoing project.
2. Areas for Review
a. Side Garden
Purpose:
- To serve as a tranquil green visual from the living room (1st floor) and junior master bedroom (2nd floor).
Design Intent:
- Emphasize greenery as the primary theme.
- Incorporate night lighting to highlight textures, plant forms, and possibly vertical or water elements.
- Allow the space to blend into indoor zones while maintaining privacy and serenity.
b. Middle Section of the 1st Floor
Function:
- Currently a transitional space between the living area and dining/kitchen zone.
Design Concerns:
- Too plain
Design Intent:
- Integrate this space meaningfully with the airwell area.
- Consider using features such as landscaping, sculptural elements, or seating to activate the space.
- Ensure the wall finish and materials harmonize with those used in the airwell.
c. Airwell Area
Function:
- To provide natural light and ventilation, and act as a vertical focal point from 1st to 3rd floors.
Design Intent:
- Incorporate a water feature (e.g. cascading wall or reflective basin) to enhance vertical appreciation.
- Ensure that the wall finish visually connects with the middle section of the 1st floor.
- Use this zone as a subtle spatial divider between the living room and dining room, while preserving openness.
- Ensure design can be appreciated from all floors, especially the 2nd and 3rd storeys.
3. Design Goals
- Maximize natural lighting and cross-ventilation across the ground floor and vertical voids.
- Achieve visual harmony between greenery, water elements, and interior finishes.
- Create multi-level appreciation of design features through careful vertical layering.
- Ensure nighttime ambiance through well-considered lighting design.
- Propose practical, cost-conscious solutions that are visually compelling and compatible with tropical conditions.
- Ensure all outputs can be clearly interpreted and executed by the existing contractor.
4. Supporting Materials
- Floor plans, elevations, and sectional drawings (See attached documents)
5. Deliverables Expected
5a. Brainstorming
- To have 3 designs for each of the areas above where the designs can be integrated with the existing designs for the rest of the house.
- A final design for each of the areas propose will be selected where we will proceed to 5b.
5b. After the final idea is selected
As this is an online consultation, the following materials are required to enable direct communication with the main contractor:
- Annotated Design Sketches: Top-down, sectional, or perspective visuals that explain proposed ideas clearly.
- Material & Finishing Recommendations: For walls, flooring, greenery, lighting, and water features. Include tropical suitability and ease of maintenance.
- Lighting Plan Suggestions: Focus on creating night ambiance and highlighting key visual elements.
- Landscape & Water Feature Guidance: Plant palette suggestions, positioning, water feature design intent, and vertical hierarchy.
- Contractor-Ready Summary Sheet: Bullet-point specifications and notes that can be easily handed over to the contractor for execution.
Project Type: Residential — 3 storey Terrace House
1. Objective
To seek a creative second opinion on the spatial and visual design of three key architectural areas:
- Side Garden
- Middle Section of the 1st Floor
- Airwell Area
The intent is to enhance these zones through improved aesthetics, spatial flow, natural lighting, ventilation, and vertical visual integration—ensuring they are both beautiful and buildable within the ongoing project.
2. Areas for Review
a. Side Garden
Purpose:
- To serve as a tranquil green visual from the living room (1st floor) and junior master bedroom (2nd floor).
Design Intent:
- Emphasize greenery as the primary theme.
- Incorporate night lighting to highlight textures, plant forms, and possibly vertical or water elements.
- Allow the space to blend into indoor zones while maintaining privacy and serenity.
b. Middle Section of the 1st Floor
Function:
- Currently a transitional space between the living area and dining/kitchen zone.
Design Concerns:
- Too plain
Design Intent:
- Integrate this space meaningfully with the airwell area.
- Consider using features such as landscaping, sculptural elements, or seating to activate the space.
- Ensure the wall finish and materials harmonize with those used in the airwell.
c. Airwell Area
Function:
- To provide natural light and ventilation, and act as a vertical focal point from 1st to 3rd floors.
Design Intent:
- Incorporate a water feature (e.g. cascading wall or reflective basin) to enhance vertical appreciation.
- Ensure that the wall finish visually connects with the middle section of the 1st floor.
- Use this zone as a subtle spatial divider between the living room and dining room, while preserving openness.
- Ensure design can be appreciated from all floors, especially the 2nd and 3rd storeys.
3. Design Goals
- Maximize natural lighting and cross-ventilation across the ground floor and vertical voids.
- Achieve visual harmony between greenery, water elements, and interior finishes.
- Create multi-level appreciation of design features through careful vertical layering.
- Ensure nighttime ambiance through well-considered lighting design.
- Propose practical, cost-conscious solutions that are visually compelling and compatible with tropical conditions.
- Ensure all outputs can be clearly interpreted and executed by the existing contractor.
4. Supporting Materials
- Floor plans, elevations, and sectional drawings (See attached documents)
5. Deliverables Expected
5a. Brainstorming
- To have 3 designs for each of the areas above where the designs can be integrated with the existing designs for the rest of the house.
- A final design for each of the areas propose will be selected where we will proceed to 5b.
5b. After the final idea is selected
As this is an online consultation, the following materials are required to enable direct communication with the main contractor:
- Annotated Design Sketches: Top-down, sectional, or perspective visuals that explain proposed ideas clearly.
- Material & Finishing Recommendations: For walls, flooring, greenery, lighting, and water features. Include tropical suitability and ease of maintenance.
- Lighting Plan Suggestions: Focus on creating night ambiance and highlighting key visual elements.
- Landscape & Water Feature Guidance: Plant palette suggestions, positioning, water feature design intent, and vertical hierarchy.
- Contractor-Ready Summary Sheet: Bullet-point specifications and notes that can be easily handed over to the contractor for execution.