House M

In Praise of Tropical Shadows

Location: Mount Sinai, Singapore
Project Type: Individual Academic Work
Date: August - November 2023
Supervisor: Assoc Professor Tsuto Sakamoto

The studio delved into understanding the ethos of a building in Japan and transposing it into Singapore. The intial research surrounded House T by Suppose Design. Tanijiri’s House T expressed integrity through designing a canvas that expresses the elements of age and weathering through the medium of darkness, moisture and nature. Through these mediums he accentuates details of the architecture’s age. Lines creating shadows, raw materials showing subtle imperfections. A reflection of “In Praise of Shadows” by Junichiro Tanizaki.

As Tanizaki ascribed a Japanese aestheticism in his book, how could my translation to Singapore reflect a new Singaporean aesetheticism. Through a small research project “In Praise of (Tropical) Shadows” I began to unpack this aesthetic as that of a relationship with moisture. Focusing on the moments it creates based on what surfaces it is able to interface with. Later crafting these moments in the architecture.

House M is a canvas for moisture to perform. Echoing House T’s integrity of age, material and element.