Normally, within an apartment unit or a house, there should be at least an enclosed room with a door separated from the rest of the unit’s interior. In a project named after the sole owner, Alex, Spacedge Designs challenges the need of a door, even the need of a separated room in the first place. “In a space for one, there is technically no need for doors within the flat,” says William Chan of Spacedge Designs.

In Singapore, it is not unusual to see rows of heritage shophouses transformed into boutique hotels, be it for backpackers or luxury travellers. Most of these hotels, however, were renovated with the approach to restore or uplift the shophouses’ original exterior as well as the interior, resulting in the ubiquitous, predictable impression when staying at one of these properties.