Margo Apartment / DualSpace Studio
- Area:
900 ft²
Year:
2024
-
Lead Architects:
YongWei Lew, Eliz Wong
Text description provided by the architects. Tucked quietly into the dense weave of the city, this modest condominium has been reimagined as a sanctuary for a unique family: twin sisters raising their young daughter, Margo. More than a renovation, this project is an act of care—creating a home that adapts, comforts, and evolves with the rhythms of shared life.
The original layout presented a familiar set of urban challenges: narrow, compartmentalized rooms and limited natural light, particularly in the kitchen. The solution was rooted in subtraction. By removing the dividing walls between the kitchen, dining, and living areas, the design opened up a continuous, light-filled communal space—one that invites moments of togetherness without enforcing them.
A structural column at the center, once seen as a constraint, became an opportunity. It now grounds the kitchen and dining area, wrapped in a soft lighting feature that casts a gentle, ambient glow—transforming a technical necessity into a poetic focal point. Beyond it, the dining zone is enveloped in a gentle, dusty blue—a deliberate chromatic shift that provides both visual calm and emotional clarity within the warmer palette of timber and earthy neutrals.
Spatially, the home is configured to support interaction without sacrificing personal space. The open-plan core encourages everyday rituals—cooking, playing, unwinding—to unfold naturally. The rest of the layout remains compact but intentional, ensuring every corner serves a purpose without clutter.
Materiality played a central role in defining the tone of the home. Raw plywood edges are left exposed, celebrating their layered honesty and providing a quiet metaphor for the family itself—resilient, imperfect, and grounded. There are no glossy finishes or unnecessary ornamentation. Instead, the design favors tactility, warmth, and quiet expression. Each element was chosen not to impress, but to endure.
This project resists the temptation of spectacle. It doesn’t strive for visual dominance; it whispers. And in doing so, it redefines luxury as the ability to feel at peace in one’s own home. Here, good design means creating space for care to take root—for love, routine, and memory to live well together.
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