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The Courtyard House,  | International Design Awards Winners
The Courtyard House,  | International Design Awards Winners
The Courtyard House,  | International Design Awards Winners
The Courtyard House,  | International Design Awards Winners
The Courtyard House,  | International Design Awards Winners
The Courtyard House,  | International Design Awards Winners
The Courtyard House,  | International Design Awards Winners
The Courtyard House,  | International Design Awards Winners
The Courtyard House,  | International Design Awards Winners
The Courtyard House,  | International Design Awards Winners
The Courtyard House,  | International Design Awards Winners

The Courtyard House

Lead DesignersLim Cheng Kooi
Prize(s)Honorable Mention
Entry Description

Though situated within an exclusive Good Class residential area, the land is surrounded by densely built neighborhood without much exciting views. The owner, a ‘Hakka’ descendent, envisions having a large communal home built for his growing family, multiple guests and frequent gathering among the siblings. Inspired by the Courtyard House, a symbolic design feature for the Hakka ethnic similar to the Hakka Walled Village in China, the house is designed to be inward looking for three generations to live under one roof.
Moving beyond the intentions of the typical ‘L’-shaped plan, the U shape plan courtyard house provides strongly delineated edges to nearly contain the outdoor space. Typically, the principle rooms are arranged around a central courtyard with sunlight and airflow permeating through both sides of each room. A clear separation of living and sleeping spaces can be achieved while allowing all rooms’ direct link to the same external space. The ‘U’ – Shaped plan, consisting of 2 wings (East & West) framing the central courtyard that depicts a traditional Hakka Courtyard House. This does not only helps secure the sense of belonging and privacy but also strengthens the visual link between its major internal spaces and outdoor courtyard.
The main entrance is placed strategically, allowing one to be welcomed within the central courtyard before entering the internal space. Still adopting the Hakka architecture concept, the courtyard is treated as part of the room that allows the owner to further extend their activity from indoor to outdoor flawlessly. The flexibility and the interchangeable usage of central courtyard reflect the spaces used in traditional Hakka’s courtyard house while the water feature flowing around the perimeter of the courtyard, symbolizes calm and also functions as natural cooling system.