The Case Study Homes are the flagship properties in Figment’s repertoire that have been extensively reimagined by a local designer for modern co-living.
SINGAPORE (PRWEB) December 21, 2020
Since the launch of their first flagship properties in February, Figment has been making its name as a champion of shophouse living and local craftsmanship. This November, Figment revealed its latest additions, MONOCOT HOUSE & DICOT HOUSE, in the diverse and quirky neighbourhood of Joo Chiat.
For the redesign Figment reached out Mikael Teh of Monocot Studio to transform the two conservation shophouses on Tembeling Road and adapt them for shared living. The architecturally trained spatial designer, who has worked on notable projects including Singapore’s National Gallery, founded Monocot Studio in 2009. In the ten years since its inception, Mikael’s clean-lined and unpretentious aesthetic has won his Studio both recognition and countless clients from all over the region.
The two shophouses, which bookend a row of five adjoining terraces, share similar dimensions and layouts. Each shophouse stands at around 3,250sq ft and holds six bedrooms – two on the first floor, and the other four on the second floor. In adapting the shophouses for co-living, a communal area was created on the first floor for residents canto mingle in.
With Mikael’s signature modernist-inspired touch, the lofty interiors of the shophouses’ communal areas, 12 rooms and suites, are stylised with two-toned walls, custom furniture, and curated Nordic-inspired fixtures and plush French linen bedding. The floral inspiration of the shophouses’ names – Monocot and Dicot refer to the two main groups of flowering plants – also extend to the suites, which are named Magnolia, Begonia, Palm, and more. In the myriad custom furnishings that decorate the houses, Mikael showcases his characteristic partiality for pared-down textures like unfinished plywood, raw concrete and unpolished steel.
The Case Study Homes are the flagship properties in Figment’s repertoire that have been extensively reimagined by a local designer for modern co-living. Each designer is commissioned to create distinctive interiors and furnishings that respond to the unique heritage of these historic buildings. The latest additions of MONOCOT HOUSE and DICOT HOUSE bring the present number of Case Study Homes to five. The first three Case Study Homes were launched in February: CANVAS HOUSE, SHANG HOUSE and STILL HOUSE.
Earliest to launch was CANVAS HOUSE, designed by Colin Seah of Ministry of Design. The concept for the three-storey shophouse in Tanjong Pagar was a blank canvas, which rendered a dramatic whitewashing of the pre-war building’s interiors. Interspersed in the layer of white are momentary peeks of old timber and revealed brick exposing the shophouse’s past. In erasing much of its historical bearings, it so prompts visitors and residents to similarly disentangle themselves from their pasts and invites them to dream up their futures on a white canvas.
Homegrown furniture and homeware label Scene Shang was asked to transform the second Case Study Home, a pre-war terrace house in the Balestier Conservation Area. Named SHANG HOUSE, the design team took pains to honour the location’s rattan manufacturing history, weaving the material into the custom-made furniture for the house. SHANG HOUSE is also softly furnished with brass and marble as well as handcrafted porcelain vases made by Middle Kingdom kiln in Jingdezhen, China.
Studio Juju helmed the redesign for the third shophouse, STILL HOUSE on Koon Seng Road. Colour is used to delineate the private suites and communal spaces – zesty hues make for an inviting dining area to foster interaction. Each of the home’s four bedrooms are distinctively designed: two contain their own private living room, while the third has a study-like chamber sporting a full-height storage shelf, and the last has a tatami lounging area.
About Figment
Figment turns houses into boutique homes by working with local creatives to design full-furnished co-living suites that are inspired by the culture and heritage of the dwelling, neighbourhood, and city. Figment was founded in Singapore in 2019 by Fang Low and Cai Wei Xian. As of November 2020, Figment has 16 properties in its collection.
https://www.figment.live
About Mikael Teh, Founder of Monocot Studio
An architect in a former lifetime, Mikael once worked with award-winning architectural firms SCDA and StudioMilou before striking out on his own with Monocot Studio in 2009. The spatial designer and architectural stylist has gone on to win multiple awards for his projects, both residential and commercial, including the Loma Hotel in the Maldives.
