Villa Lambda

Villa Lambda, a geometrical description of space, is located in Singapore, near the eastern coast, and set in a suburban sea of red-tiled pitched roofs in a mix of classical and modern pastiche. The design inspiration for the house was the scale model Lamborghini Gallardo.

The model Lamborghini suggested two triangles that mirror one another, creating an offset shape and interlocking figures. It also feeds the idea contained in the name of the house — lambda (λ), the Greek letter used to signify the notion of a wavelength, a triangulated formal composition of apparent opposites held in dynamic tension — and then, was elaborated to pick up on the spaceship image which has just landed or is about to take off: the house aerofoil screens cantilever 20 meters out to form the protective canopy or the porte cochère of the car parking; the aluminum-clad roof with the extruded flaps at the rear of the attic sitting room; and the attic louver which serves as the air-intake of an engine room.

The driving image was of a weightless building whose only structure would be the exoskeleton, a space frame containing the house itself. Two triangles cantilever off one another ─ one chamfered at the rear to add to the aerodynamic quality ─ with the whole structure seemingly balanced on a single point. The large glazed walls of the house are set well back from the exoskeleton and add to the impression of a delicately poised composition of triangular forms. The framework also complied with Singapore’s regulation for habitable attic spaces. Through a careful balancing of building lines and roof eaves, it remains within guidelines without any compromise to the formal character of the building.

The inside is notable for its luxury and opulence. It contains many custom-designed pieces that unify the interior and the exterior in an integrated design scheme.

Villa Lambda represents a union between the exterior and the interior characteristics of the house, and by eschewing complicated furnishings, its architectural form becomes the dominant theme of interior design.