The rowhouse (terrace house/shophouse) typology suffocates in its mid-section due to its lack of 2 long facades. In a rowhouse typology, the airwell is one of 2 unavoidable vertical elements, the staircase being the other.
The strategy to integrate these two elements incorporated a 3rd intention - to prevent their disruption to the plan of the dwelling.
Between the 2 party walls, a 3rd wall is created that separates the vertical elements from all the usable floor space. The result of this is a continuous plan that enjoys front-to-rear cross-ventilation on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd storeys.
To bring more light to the 1st storey living spaces, the wall that starts as a perfectly parallel, 1-metre wide opening on the rear facade and roof, peels inwards towards its front and bottom corner to open up a larger void.
The rowhouse (terrace house/shophouse) typology suffocates in its mid-section due to its lack of 2 long facades. In a rowhouse typology, the airwell is one of 2 unavoidable vertical elements, the staircase being the other.
The strategy to integrate these two elements incorporated a 3rd intention - to prevent their disruption to the plan of the dwelling.
Between the 2 party walls, a 3rd wall is created that separates the vertical elements from all the usable floor space. The result of this is a continuous plan that enjoys front-to-rear cross-ventilation on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd storeys.
To bring more light to the 1st storey living spaces, the wall that starts as a perfectly parallel, 1-metre wide opening on the rear facade and roof, peels inwards towards its front and bottom corner to open up a larger void.
The rowhouse (terrace house/shophouse) typology suffocates in its mid-section due to its lack of 2 long facades. In a rowhouse typology, the airwell is one of 2 unavoidable vertical elements, the staircase being the other.
The strategy to integrate these two elements incorporated a 3rd intention - to prevent their disruption to the plan of the dwelling.
Between the 2 party walls, a 3rd wall is created that separates the vertical elements from all the usable floor space. The result of this is a continuous plan that enjoys front-to-rear cross-ventilation on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd storeys.
To bring more light to the 1st storey living spaces, the wall that starts as a perfectly parallel, 1-metre wide opening on the rear facade and roof, peels inwards towards its front and bottom corner to open up a larger void.