Local design firm Freight Architects presents the Oku House, which is made with inspiration from the Japanese spatial concept of oku, otherwise known as inwardness. It is translated through the ‘unfolding’ range of rooms and gardens. The home takes over a long, narrow plot in Singapore’s Serangoon Gardens neighborhood. The clients wanted to honor the traditional shophouse typology of Singapore.

Director of the firm, Kee Jing Zhi explains, “After learning that the client purchased the house because it reminded them of the long shophouses in Penang and Malacca, we decided to reimagine the concept of a shophouse. Inspired by the idea of ‘oku’, we aimed to unfold and reveal the spaces within the house. We designed Oku House with the concept of ‘open architecture’ in mind, where the space is designed to ‘breathe.'”

Image Credit: Freight Architects