Previous pages : From the garage , formal guests are welcomed into a timber-lined lobby containing a dramatic steel and glass staircase . The lobby walls are not just decorative – they house concealed storage . Family members and friends would bypass this staircase , going further into the basement level to a secondary staircase that leads to the innermost wing of the house .
Above : The helical staircase leads to this formal lounge , while the more informal living areas can be seen in the wing beyond the pool . This hierarchy of space is similar to the way that traditional Chinese courtyard homes are organised .
“ To achieve the required floor area within these limits , I put a basement from the street to the back of the site . This also gave a much larger flat area on which I could place two separate two-storey blocks .”
The smaller of the two blocks sits above the garage and entry lobby , and contains a formal lounge on one level with the master suite above .
Perpendicular to this , the larger of the two blocks sits on the base of the L alongside the pool . This contains informal living spaces – kitchen , dining , and living areas – on the ground floor level , with bedrooms and bathrooms above .
Tan says the result is a hierarchy of space similar to that found in a Chinese courtyard house .
Visitors to the house drive into a sculptural garage space . Framed in granite at the front , it is lined in timber and has a circular skylight through which the pool on the roof above can be viewed .
From the garage , they are welcomed into a timber-lined lobby with a grand spiral staircase . search | save | share at