Tan Quee Lan Suites Scavenged

Post-Christmas (by the way the best time to buy Christmas gifts), I plonked myself down in Page One while J went on a rampage in Vivo. I came across a book on WOHA, the award-winning design firm who designed many of  the gorgeous buildings in Singapore.

The Church of St Mary of the Angels, in Bukit Batok is one of the them, and is a beautifully crafted modern Catholic church.

Credit to LifeInMacro on Flickr

On the residential end, WOHA has also designed Newton Suites, which encapsulates the idea URA was really going for when free planters were introduced.

Credit to amorphity on Flickr

WOHA is also not without it misses, and the Iluma, opposite Bugis Junction is right up there in the butt-ugly column, IMHO.

Credit to amorphity again

Most recently, the firm is the news for one half of the massively oversubscribed BTO in Dawson – The SkyVille@Dawson, which unfortunately does not resemble the awesome submitted design.

For WOHA's sake I will only show the original design

Tan Quee Lan Suites

But what I saw in the book that was really interesting is the little known project of Tan Quee Lan Suites. It is actually a mixed development of office and residential units. It was a winning URA Heritage Award in 2006 which describes it best as

Comprising six pre-World War II Transitional shophouses, the development incorporates a new rear block to double the usable space. Currently, shops and restaurants reside at the ground level while offices were on the second. Apartment suites occupied the rest of the floors.

The full view of Tan Quee Lan Suites

As you can see, a modern rear block was added to the back of the shop-houses to increase the available space. This creates that juxtaposition of heritage and modern imagery which we all try to capture with our first camera. At least I did.

The residential units at the top of the rear block is another example of unique living spaces. Tan Quee Lan Suites houses only 26 residential units from 3rd to 5th floor, with what seems like terraced houses on the top floor. They even come with a private sanctuary.

I managed to scavenged a few pictures of the suites, unfortunately all artist impressions. Credit goes to Habitat.com.sg.

Model of Tan Quee Lan Suites

The suites seem to have views on both sides, and along with the garden creates such an airy, open space. In Chinese we say 通风 to describe the air flow.

The Living Area

The bedrooms and study are well located on the 2nd floor, creating a nice separation of living and bedroom areas. This is kinda like the Miro lofts, but I’m not sure if  Tan Quee Lan Suites has a loft area.

The Study

I love unique living spaces. Lofts, conservation houses, shop-houses, etc, they have a boutique feel to them. Tan Quee Lan Suites is no exception, in fact it takes the cake by mixing the old and new in city living and even plonking terrace homes on top of 6 shop-houses. If you own one of these units, think of it as owning a piece of history and the future.