Staying True
Form Magazine, Singapore
Never mind the location, what matters to Juan Tan is a consistent decor and architectural style. That's why he chose this 1930s Tiong Baru flat after living in an iconic art deco apartment in Shanghai.
Juan Tan fell in love with this 1200-sq ft ground floor apartment in Tiong Baru after seeing pictures of the interiors on the internet when he was still based in Shanghai as the executive creative director at Tequilla/China. And after sending a friend over to check on the noise level, he signed the lease without setting foot in the apartment.
Inscribed with the names of their origin, Alexander and J.B (Jurong Brickworks), the exposed red bricks from the 1930s tell the history of the building. Lending their intrinsic texture and hue to the living room.
An avid collector of furniture by Charles and Ray Eames, Juan has dispersed the different pieces throughout the apartment.
"We simply specified the area and the local property agent emailed us a choice of three apartments. I think the deal maker is the nearly five-metre ceiling height and the fabulous exposed brick works in the living room," says the Malaysian-born Juan who moved to Singapore to set up his own design firm after seven years in Shanghai. Attracted by the city's reputation as the hub of Asia and the meeting point of international businesses, his 1:10 Studio will focus on creating innovative products and furniture. "I recall the country's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong stressing the importance of design in a news report and the government's will to invest in the industry," he adds.
Juan began designing his own furniture back in Shanghai with the assistance of the husband of his housekeeper who happens to work in a metal foundry. "I came up with the designs and he made them for me," pointing to the unique pieces that in the apartment range from the '+' series of TV console, kitchen console, side table and table lamp in rusted weathered steel that was inspired by the cross symbol, to the 'Capital E' shelf in reflective stainless steel. Juan conceived to organise all his audio/video entertainment sets, and the 'HBED' (Happy Birthday Elle Deco) chair, he designed for the 5th anniversary of the China edition of Elle Decoration magazine: miniatures of the HBED are propped on the shelves while a full-sized version sit in the courtyard.
Christopher Kwek says the exposed brick works are part of the original structure, revealing the history of the building. The managing director of Forward 50 Project Consultants, a design-and-build company focused on commercial interiors, Chris says he uncovered the well made bricks during renovation after he purchased the property in end 2007. He was pleasantly surprised at their superb condition and the meticulous workmanship of the brick layers 80 years ago.
"Instead of being laid on the wider side like in the common parti wall shared with the neighbouring unit for a thicker effect to reduce noise transmission, the traditional reddish brown bricks in the internal partition wall separating the current living area and bedroom were laid on their thinner sides. This is why you are able to see the names of the factories where they were made inscribed on the thinner sides; some are clearly marked Alexandra and some bear the initials J.B which I believe stands for Jurong Brickworks," Chris points out with enthusiasm. Impressed by how handsome they look, he appointed a dedicated worker who spent two weeks patiently and carefully chipping away the plaster on the two adjacent walls in the living area and a smaller one in the kitchen so as not to damage the bricks and grouting, keeping them as intact as possible.
A staunch admirer of the conserved walk-up apartments in the Tiong Baru enclave with shades of the Art Deco style that has become gentrified by a new generation of young trendsetters in the past decade. Chris has to date bought and renovated three units there. He recalls that this apartment was occupied by more than a dozen expatriates workers when he first viewed it three years ago. "It was dim, stuffy and badly maintained with a stale odour. But I saw the potential behind the terrible layout, congested rooms and false ceiling. The unit hugs a corner so there are more windows than usual to generate better ventilation and natural light. But I had to change the layout radically."
Chris removed the internal partitions and ceiling boards to free up and integrate the three small spaces at the front into a large open one, shifted the entrance of the master bedroom to the long corridor that runs the length of the apartment and added steps to create better access, turned the kitchen at the end of the corridor into a guest room, and transformed what was a redundant space that opens onto the courtyard into a compact kitchen. The reconfigured layout did wonders, enlarging the living room, made the master bedroom a more cloistered cocoon, and completely opened up the kitchen and study to the courtyard which features a roofed-over skylight.
When owner Chris relocated the entrance to the master bedroom, he also created a new access within the room with steps leading to the sleeping area behind the partition.
The Tiong Baru apartment hails from the same era as Juan's former residence in Shanghai at the Embankment Building, the city's most iconic Art Deco apartment block that was built in the 1930s. Juan has lived in different units in the Embankment from 2003 till mid-2010. And given his flair for decorating, his apartments were featured in the city's leading design and decor magazines. He says his past and current apartments share a certain architectural style and timelessness. But where he once looked out to panoramic views of Shanghai's historic Suzhou Creek and the metropolitan Pudding skyline in the horizon, Tiong Baru has hardly any view to speak of. Instead, it is insular and inward looking. And owner Chris fitted
The minimalist bedroom is where Juan clears his head and relaxes so the lesser the stimulation the better. He says the feel of the mattress matters more than the look.
The concrete vanity stand and basin endows the bathroom with a touch of old fashioned rusticity.
The kitchen opens onto the courtyard where Juan's HBED chair designed for Elle Deco China's 5th Anniversary takes pride of place.
Juan says the sound of the rain pelting on the courtyard roof hits him with a wave of nostalgia, reminding him of his growing up years in a kampung home in Malaysia.
the windows with translucent reed-glass (rubbed texture) panes to bring in the natural light while keeping out prying eyes.
Juan also has to squeeze his vast collection of furniture and possessions he and his partner have amassed into a space that is half of what they used to occupy in Shanghai. "Space saving is a priority but we managed to fit everything in based on the floor plan Chris sent us. The walls which I had painted in different hues actually breathed new life into our furniture and decor compared to the previous all white walls in Shanghai. Best of all, we now have an outdoor dining area which I have always wanted but was not practical before due to Shanghai's climate. So the only renovation we did was to build the timber deck in the courtyard," Juan says of the changes and challenges they faced in the shift.
Another thing which Juan loves about this apartment is the sound of the rain pelting on the roof of the courtyard, "it is a familiar sound as I grew up in Perak in a kampung house with a zinc roof. I missed it when I was living in Shanghai." He says he feels very nostalgic when he hears the sound, especially when he is lying in bed. What's unexpected is that when Juan is working at his computer at the front of the apartment, he often gets doses of gossip filtering clearly through as the corner of the walkway outside is a favourite meet-and-chat spot for many of the neighbours. It can be too noisy for those who like quiet but Juan acknowledges it as one of the charms of living in a friendly, cosy old neighbourhood.