21/03/2026
260321 Gibert & Tan's Residence
Stepping inside, however, the experience shifts. The interior unfolds like a slow breath. Walls that once boxed the rooms into small dimmed compartments have been softened or removed. Light begins its journey from the reinstated backyard patio – a space that had long been sealed off and forgotten. Now revived, it casts a gentle brightness into the ground floor, guiding air and shadow as they slip across the polished concrete, the fair faced bricks and the timber desks, where work and life blur seamlessly. Furthermore, the tropical climate is not fought, but invited through openings positioned to capture movement; the house exhales as the day warms and inhales as evening cools. Upstairs, we stripped the ceiling back to its structural bones, letting the roof rise to its full height. In doing so, a new sense of volume emerged – an almost cavern-like openness that contrasts with the humbleness of the exterior. This expanded verticality allowed an attic to take shape, a tucked-away retreat that functions as additional living space, a loft for ideas, or a quiet refuge when the studio below hums with activity.
