Award-winning terraced house on Watten Drive going for $5.68 mil

An intermediate terraced house on Watten Drive has been put on the market for sale by private treaty. The house is owned by the architect who designed and rebuilt the old house for his family a decade ago. He continues to live there with his wife, a private banker, and their daughter. “While it’s a terraced house, we have designed it in such a way that it feels like a semi-detached house,” says the architect, who declined to be named.

One of the walls of the house was tilted slightly, resulting in a wedge-shaped gap between the house and the common wall shared with the neighbouring house. The gap allows the architect to have windows on that wall, allowing natural light and fresh air into the house. A lap pool was also slotted into the space. “Most terraced houses tend to be long and dark, with the interiors lit mainly by artificial light,” explains the architect. “Rather than introduce a courtyard, which would have been predictable, we decided to bend the wall slightly, prying it away from the common wall so that slivers of light could illuminate the interiors.”

The house was deliberately designed with a clean, white palette so that the architectural lines stand out. And it has several other interesting features. A sculptural “floating spiral staircase” surrounded by water stands next to a powder room that leads directly to the lap pool. There is also a built-in “triple-storey height bookcase” starting from the first floor and ending at the attic.

The first floor of the house is an open plan with living and dining area leading to a dry kitchen. The space is even big enough to fit a grand piano comfortably. The wet kitchen is spacious for a terraced house, with generous storage space and a bomb shelter. There are also a helper’s room and an adjacent bathroom as well as a granny’s room or guest bedroom at the rear of the house.

The second level is where the family’s bedrooms are. The master bedroom comes with a walk-in wardrobe leading to the master bathroom, with shower and free-standing bathtub and an adjacent garden. Within the bedroom is additional storage, including a concealed vanity area.

The daughter’s bedroom is equally spacious and comes with a high ceiling as well as skylight. It also has an en suite bathroom and private garden space. On the third level is another en suite bedroom that has been turned into a study. The room has built-in wardrobe space with sliding doors that open on both sides. On this level, there is also a spacious family room that leads to an open terrace.

The house on Watten Drive has won several awards, including both the Singapore Institute of Architects’ Architectural Design Awards and the premier award for architecture in Malaysia, the PAM Awards in 2011.

The house sits on a 2,250 sq ft site and has a built-up area of 3,540 sq ft (excluding the lap pool) across three floors. The house was designed in 2007 and completed in 2008. Today, the house is on the market for sale by private treaty with Knight Frank as the marketing agent. “This is a very interesting and unique terraced house with the feel of a semi-detached house, and comes with a swimming pool,” says Sharon Lee, Knight Frank head of auction, who is marketing the property. “I haven’t seen such a house in my 25 years of marketing property.”

The house was designed to be “flexible”, with plenty of wardrobe space in the bedrooms and built-in storage space in the wet kitchen. “Condos and houses today underprovide when it comes to storage,” says the architect.

For those who want more bedrooms, the family room on the attic level can be converted into an additional bedroom, says Lee. For older folk, there is provision for a home lift within the property. As the house has been well designed, “most of the potential buyers are interested in retaining the original character of the house, but just want to do minor updates”, adds Lee. The price tag on the house is $5.68 million.

The house is also in a desirable residential address. Located in the coveted Watten Estate, in prime District 11, it is just a short distance from top schools such as Raffles Girls’ Primary School, Hwa Chong Institution and National Junior College. Nanyang Primary School is about 1km away. The Tan Kah Kee MRT station on the Downtown Line is also within walking distance.

Popular eateries in the vicinity include The Greenwood Fishmarket and Bistro for those who want fresh seafood, local favourite cake shop Lana Cakes, Peperoni pizzeria, Italian restaurant Rubato Kitchen & Bar, and Baker & Cook Artisan Bakery. The Singapore Botanic Gardens and Singapore Island Country Club are also nearby.