Let’s be real: The HDB flat living room is pretty standard. You usually get a rectangular space that’s just big enough to fit a sofa or two, a TV console and a coffee table.
It’s not often that one sees a round living room in a HDB flat — but this resale home, designed by Woon from Metre Architects, pulls it off perfectly. The airy, expansive communal area is surrounded by a gentle curve that hugs the perimeter, making it cosy with a sense of playfulness at the same time.
Since the homeowner likes cooking and hosting gatherings with friends, she requested that one of the bedrooms be removed to enlarge the living room. The curve of the room echoes the outer wall of the block at Compassvale Link. “Our intuition is to celebrate the curved perimeter wall by introducing an inner curve that gathers the space,” says Woon. The curve was also inspired by Chinese calligraphy, where a typical stroke starts with strength and tapers off with a lighter touch.
It’s not all just aesthetics, either — the curve provides plenty of practical space that is at times a display shelf, and at times seating, depending on how creative one gets. For this homeowner, the surface provides extra seating for when her friends come over. Woon also made use of the space beneath to add much-needed storage.