The upscale shopping street of Ginza is lined with striking buildings designed by renowned architects, and Maison Hermes Ginza is among them. Italian architect Renzo Piano constructed its facade from square glass blocks, which bring indirect light into the galleries and retail spaces by day while evoking a giant lantern at night.
Singaporean architect Paul Yeo referenced the building when working with the homeowners on an inter-terrace house project in the Thomson area. Given the neighbourhood’s dense residential character, he wanted to use glass blocks on the elevation to bring natural light into the interiors while providing privacy for the occupants.
“Many houses around here use screens for the facade but that was not what the homeowners wanted. The couple, who live here with their three young sons, wanted a house that is very bright, airy, and can achieve privacy at the same time so I thought of using glass blocks to allow visual porosity while blurring out the outside,” explained Yeo, who runs PI Architects with his business partner, Ivan Soh.
The new build replaces a former two-storey home, reimagined as a streamlined four-level residence organised within the area’s height controls. (Photo: Accident+/Chan Hao Ong)
Glass blocks – sometimes referred to as glass bricks – were a popular material in the early 20th century. Swiss engineer and architect Gustave Falconnier invented hollow glass blocks for construction in 1886. Examples of their early use include Maison de Verre (House of Glass) in Paris, designed by Pierre Chareau and Bernard Bijvoet, and the Owens-Illinois Glass Company’s glass block building for the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, made with 25,000 blocks.
Popular in Singaporean homes in the 1970s and 1980s, glass blocks fell out of favour in the noughties as they came to be seen as dated. They are now returning, as architects and designers revisit them to balance light and privacy.
In this house by PI Architects, the glass blocks are applied in the front facade grid of concrete beams and columns. This rational tectonic expression gives the house a streamlined look. At the same time, the asymmetrical alignment of the vertical profiles brings liveliness to the composition.
The facade’s glass blocks filter views from the street, bringing in daylight while providing privacy without relying on typical screens. (Photo: Accident+/Chan Hao Ong)
The new build replaces a two-storey house that the homeowners found too small for their needs. With small windows and no skylight, the original home was also dark inside. “Sunlight is a challenge with inter-terrace houses where you only get sunlight from the front and back,” Yeo said.
Upon entering, there is an immediate sense of openness, thanks to the double-volume space and the natural daylight filtering through the glass block facade. The staircase is tucked to one side, while the living, dining and dry kitchen are arranged in a row so that lounging, eating and food prep feel seamless and connected – both for daily family life and when friends gather.
The double-volume living area is washed in natural daylight filtered through the glass block facade, reinforcing the home’s open feel from the moment you enter. (Photo: Accident+/Chan Hao Ong)
The living, dining and dry kitchen are arranged in a continuous row, creating an open layout designed for family life and entertaining. (Photo: Accident+/Chan Hao Ong)
The husband works in finance, while the wife is an accredited counsellor who now looks after their three sons, aged two to eight. It was because of their sons that the couple decided to move from an apartment into a landed property. The new build has 4,078 sq ft of space on a 1,816 sq ft site.
The husband grew up in the area and felt it was ideal, given its proximity to his alma mater, which his eldest son now attends. “We were looking at several plots in the area but we liked this one because of the good cross winds if you open up all the windows. It’s also private enough, sits on the path of two MRT train lines, and a stone’s throw from all the food we like nearby,” he added.
A tall shelf running the full height of the living space becomes a feature wall, created to conceal a beam while making use of the space. (Photo: Accident+/Chan Hao Ong)
Although the site is zoned for a two-and-a-half-storey house, Yeo managed to fit in four levels by working within the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA)’s envelope control guidelines, which determine the overall allowable height rather than the number of internal levels.
“We wanted the living space to feel bigger so we created this double-volume void. From here you can see the interplay of different volumes of voids,” said Yeo, pointing to a mezzanine level overlooking the living space. On this level are two bedrooms that share a Jack-and-Jill bathroom for the two grandmothers, who visit occasionally when in town. Large sliding glass doors open the rooms to the common area so that the grandmothers can engage with the children, who treat the whole house as their playground.
Open-tread stairs with ambient lighting beneath each step create a theatrical effect while improving safety for both children and older family members. (Photo: Accident+/Chan Hao Ong)
At the landing above the piano, Yeo cut a small void up to the third storey, where the sons’ bedrooms are located. He said the wife uses the void to call the boys down for meals. His attempt to create an airy home and reduce any sense of claustrophobia also resulted in a staircase with open treads. Ambient lighting beneath each tread creates a theatrical effect while improving safety for both children and older family members.
In the wet kitchen, hardwearing surfaces and generous counter space support a family-focused brief, balancing function with a pared-back, polished look. (Photo: Accident+/Chan Hao Ong)
The home feels restful due to streamlined details. Some examples are aluminium strips along the edge of the car porch canopy that create a slimmer profile, and a tall shelf running the full height of the living space. “This came from the site conditions. We had to build a new wall on our side of the party wall, which resulted in a beam running through. I told the builder to create a feature wall stretching across to hide the beam while making effective use of the space,” explained Yeo.
On the open first storey, large-format floor tiles with a travertine look from supplier K Stone, champagne-gold accents and white walls bring an elegant minimalism to the home. A peek into the powder room, however, offers a surprise – Yeo embellished the walls with dramatic landscape-evoking wallpaper, lit by a gem-like wall sconce.
A mezzanine level with two bedrooms for the visiting grandmothers overlooks the double-height living space. (Photo: Accident+/Chan Hao Ong)
Outside the powder room, a framed painting by Swedish artist Sabina von Essen decorates the dining area. The wife chose it because it depicts a family of five in a painterly style. The dry kitchen counter next to the dining table is made of sintered stone, chosen for its durability. Overall, the house was designed to be child-friendly, with open spaces, a dining table with rounded edges and durable materials.
The husband pointed out the stain-resistant upholstery on the sofa. “Even if the children spill things on it, it can be easily wiped off,” he said. Mess is tucked away or given designated places. For example, in the dry kitchen, the husband has his own “coffee preparation counter”, and lit cabinetry with glass doors showcases the wife’s Hermes teaware.
The master bedroom’s floral wallpaper from Arte is one of the home’s more decorative moments, standing out against an otherwise streamlined palette of white walls and champagne-toned accents. (Photo: Accident+/Chan Hao Ong)
The master bathroom balances function with a sense of luxury, using travertine for the water closet structure and a durable manmade stone surface for the vanity counter. (Photo: Accident+/Chan Hao Ong)
Next to the powder room, a door opens to a dedicated room for the husband’s hobby equipment. “This is my happy space,” laughed the avid mountain climber and outdoor enthusiast. “Aside from climbing, a friend of mine and I hiked the 200km Arctic Circle trail in 2017, unguided and unsupported. Isolated from the rest of the world, it was 11 days of pure joy!”
His early hiking adventures led to rock climbing. “Then the risk level went up so I moved on to glacier travel, then skiing,” said the husband, who has climbed in mountain ranges across Europe, Africa, North and Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Northwest.
On the fourth storey, the master bathroom sits alongside the walk-in wardrobe at the centre of the couple’s private level. (Photo: Accident+/Chan Hao Ong)
“Notable climbs I particularly enjoyed were Matterhorn in Switzerland, Mt Khuiten in Mongolia, and Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania,” he enthused, adding that his sons have all started their climbing journey with indoor rock wall climbing in Singapore, as evidenced by small rock-climbing shoes hung neatly in the equipment room.
It was on one of these climbing trips – an attempt to scale Mount Fuji in winter, later aborted due to bad weather – that the husband reconnected with Yeo, his secondary school classmate. “It was in 2015. We had bumped into each other at Narita International Airport, as I was coming to Tokyo,” said Yeo, recalling the serendipitous meeting that led to their collaboration on the house years later.
While the husband veers towards a modern contemporary style, his wife provides softer decorative touches. She bought two Hermes scarves for the home, which were framed and hung at the staircase landings. The first, titled ‘Academia Hippica’ and designed by Jan Bajtlik, is placed on the first storey. Its Trojan Horse imagery aligns with this year’s Chinese zodiac animal. The second, titled ‘Hermès Parade’ and designed by Jonathan Burton, depicts balloons in robot, rocket and other whimsical forms. It is displayed at the third-storey landing, where the boys’ bedrooms are located.
The wife also influenced the home’s champagne tones. “I like this colour theme. I also like a luxe feel because I like to stay in nice hotels on holidays,” she shared, listing Rosewood, Park Hyatt and Four Seasons among her preferred hospitality brands.
Set within the couple’s private fourth-storey zone, the walk-in wardrobe is positioned centrally, alongside the master bathroom, with the husband’s study to the rear. (Photo: Accident+/Chan Hao Ong)
On the third storey, two bedrooms at the rear share a Jack-and-Jill bathroom, like the level below. The homeowners explained that, for now, the two younger boys share a bedroom as they enjoy each other’s company, while the other bedroom serves as a playroom. At the front of this level is a junior master bedroom for the eldest. The glass blocks make another appearance here, as well as in the connected junior master bathroom.
The fourth storey is the couple’s private space. The architecture is set back from the lower levels at the front and rear, resulting in a smaller footprint. The sleeping area opens onto a terrace lined with simple aluminium balustrades, while the master bathroom and walk-in wardrobe are conveniently positioned together in the centre. The husband’s study is at the rear so that he can work from home without disturbing his wife if she is asleep.
Such considerations contribute to a house that embraces family living without sacrificing sophistication. Yeo’s rational architectural expression, considered sense of scale, and continued use of light as both function and motif enhance liveability.
His summary of the project feels apt – a design drawing inspiration from “the soft effervescence of champagne and the delicate translucently of glass” and one that “embodies a quiet sophistication that celebrates light, texture and harmony.”
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Singaporean architect Paul Yeo referenced the building when working with the homeowners on an inter-terrace house project in the Thomson area. Given the neighbourhood’s dense residential character, he wanted to use glass blocks on the elevation to bring natural light into the interiors while providing privacy for the occupants.
“Many houses around here use screens for the facade but that was not what the homeowners wanted. The couple, who live here with their three young sons, wanted a house that is very bright, airy, and can achieve privacy at the same time so I thought of using glass blocks to allow visual porosity while blurring out the outside,” explained Yeo, who runs PI Architects with his business partner, Ivan Soh.
The new build replaces a former two-storey home, reimagined as a streamlined four-level residence organised within the area’s height controls. (Photo: Accident+/Chan Hao Ong)
Glass blocks – sometimes referred to as glass bricks – were a popular material in the early 20th century. Swiss engineer and architect Gustave Falconnier invented hollow glass blocks for construction in 1886. Examples of their early use include Maison de Verre (House of Glass) in Paris, designed by Pierre Chareau and Bernard Bijvoet, and the Owens-Illinois Glass Company’s glass block building for the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, made with 25,000 blocks.
Popular in Singaporean homes in the 1970s and 1980s, glass blocks fell out of favour in the noughties as they came to be seen as dated. They are now returning, as architects and designers revisit them to balance light and privacy.
In this house by PI Architects, the glass blocks are applied in the front facade grid of concrete beams and columns. This rational tectonic expression gives the house a streamlined look. At the same time, the asymmetrical alignment of the vertical profiles brings liveliness to the composition.
The facade’s glass blocks filter views from the street, bringing in daylight while providing privacy without relying on typical screens. (Photo: Accident+/Chan Hao Ong)
The new build replaces a two-storey house that the homeowners found too small for their needs. With small windows and no skylight, the original home was also dark inside. “Sunlight is a challenge with inter-terrace houses where you only get sunlight from the front and back,” Yeo said.
Upon entering, there is an immediate sense of openness, thanks to the double-volume space and the natural daylight filtering through the glass block facade. The staircase is tucked to one side, while the living, dining and dry kitchen are arranged in a row so that lounging, eating and food prep feel seamless and connected – both for daily family life and when friends gather.
The double-volume living area is washed in natural daylight filtered through the glass block facade, reinforcing the home’s open feel from the moment you enter. (Photo: Accident+/Chan Hao Ong)
The living, dining and dry kitchen are arranged in a continuous row, creating an open layout designed for family life and entertaining. (Photo: Accident+/Chan Hao Ong)
The husband works in finance, while the wife is an accredited counsellor who now looks after their three sons, aged two to eight. It was because of their sons that the couple decided to move from an apartment into a landed property. The new build has 4,078 sq ft of space on a 1,816 sq ft site.
The husband grew up in the area and felt it was ideal, given its proximity to his alma mater, which his eldest son now attends. “We were looking at several plots in the area but we liked this one because of the good cross winds if you open up all the windows. It’s also private enough, sits on the path of two MRT train lines, and a stone’s throw from all the food we like nearby,” he added.
A tall shelf running the full height of the living space becomes a feature wall, created to conceal a beam while making use of the space. (Photo: Accident+/Chan Hao Ong)
Although the site is zoned for a two-and-a-half-storey house, Yeo managed to fit in four levels by working within the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA)’s envelope control guidelines, which determine the overall allowable height rather than the number of internal levels.
“We wanted the living space to feel bigger so we created this double-volume void. From here you can see the interplay of different volumes of voids,” said Yeo, pointing to a mezzanine level overlooking the living space. On this level are two bedrooms that share a Jack-and-Jill bathroom for the two grandmothers, who visit occasionally when in town. Large sliding glass doors open the rooms to the common area so that the grandmothers can engage with the children, who treat the whole house as their playground.
Open-tread stairs with ambient lighting beneath each step create a theatrical effect while improving safety for both children and older family members. (Photo: Accident+/Chan Hao Ong)
At the landing above the piano, Yeo cut a small void up to the third storey, where the sons’ bedrooms are located. He said the wife uses the void to call the boys down for meals. His attempt to create an airy home and reduce any sense of claustrophobia also resulted in a staircase with open treads. Ambient lighting beneath each tread creates a theatrical effect while improving safety for both children and older family members.
In the wet kitchen, hardwearing surfaces and generous counter space support a family-focused brief, balancing function with a pared-back, polished look. (Photo: Accident+/Chan Hao Ong)
The home feels restful due to streamlined details. Some examples are aluminium strips along the edge of the car porch canopy that create a slimmer profile, and a tall shelf running the full height of the living space. “This came from the site conditions. We had to build a new wall on our side of the party wall, which resulted in a beam running through. I told the builder to create a feature wall stretching across to hide the beam while making effective use of the space,” explained Yeo.
On the open first storey, large-format floor tiles with a travertine look from supplier K Stone, champagne-gold accents and white walls bring an elegant minimalism to the home. A peek into the powder room, however, offers a surprise – Yeo embellished the walls with dramatic landscape-evoking wallpaper, lit by a gem-like wall sconce.
A mezzanine level with two bedrooms for the visiting grandmothers overlooks the double-height living space. (Photo: Accident+/Chan Hao Ong)
Outside the powder room, a framed painting by Swedish artist Sabina von Essen decorates the dining area. The wife chose it because it depicts a family of five in a painterly style. The dry kitchen counter next to the dining table is made of sintered stone, chosen for its durability. Overall, the house was designed to be child-friendly, with open spaces, a dining table with rounded edges and durable materials.
The husband pointed out the stain-resistant upholstery on the sofa. “Even if the children spill things on it, it can be easily wiped off,” he said. Mess is tucked away or given designated places. For example, in the dry kitchen, the husband has his own “coffee preparation counter”, and lit cabinetry with glass doors showcases the wife’s Hermes teaware.
The master bedroom’s floral wallpaper from Arte is one of the home’s more decorative moments, standing out against an otherwise streamlined palette of white walls and champagne-toned accents. (Photo: Accident+/Chan Hao Ong)
The master bathroom balances function with a sense of luxury, using travertine for the water closet structure and a durable manmade stone surface for the vanity counter. (Photo: Accident+/Chan Hao Ong)
Next to the powder room, a door opens to a dedicated room for the husband’s hobby equipment. “This is my happy space,” laughed the avid mountain climber and outdoor enthusiast. “Aside from climbing, a friend of mine and I hiked the 200km Arctic Circle trail in 2017, unguided and unsupported. Isolated from the rest of the world, it was 11 days of pure joy!”
His early hiking adventures led to rock climbing. “Then the risk level went up so I moved on to glacier travel, then skiing,” said the husband, who has climbed in mountain ranges across Europe, Africa, North and Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Northwest.
On the fourth storey, the master bathroom sits alongside the walk-in wardrobe at the centre of the couple’s private level. (Photo: Accident+/Chan Hao Ong)
“Notable climbs I particularly enjoyed were Matterhorn in Switzerland, Mt Khuiten in Mongolia, and Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania,” he enthused, adding that his sons have all started their climbing journey with indoor rock wall climbing in Singapore, as evidenced by small rock-climbing shoes hung neatly in the equipment room.
It was on one of these climbing trips – an attempt to scale Mount Fuji in winter, later aborted due to bad weather – that the husband reconnected with Yeo, his secondary school classmate. “It was in 2015. We had bumped into each other at Narita International Airport, as I was coming to Tokyo,” said Yeo, recalling the serendipitous meeting that led to their collaboration on the house years later.
While the husband veers towards a modern contemporary style, his wife provides softer decorative touches. She bought two Hermes scarves for the home, which were framed and hung at the staircase landings. The first, titled ‘Academia Hippica’ and designed by Jan Bajtlik, is placed on the first storey. Its Trojan Horse imagery aligns with this year’s Chinese zodiac animal. The second, titled ‘Hermès Parade’ and designed by Jonathan Burton, depicts balloons in robot, rocket and other whimsical forms. It is displayed at the third-storey landing, where the boys’ bedrooms are located.
The wife also influenced the home’s champagne tones. “I like this colour theme. I also like a luxe feel because I like to stay in nice hotels on holidays,” she shared, listing Rosewood, Park Hyatt and Four Seasons among her preferred hospitality brands.
Set within the couple’s private fourth-storey zone, the walk-in wardrobe is positioned centrally, alongside the master bathroom, with the husband’s study to the rear. (Photo: Accident+/Chan Hao Ong)
On the third storey, two bedrooms at the rear share a Jack-and-Jill bathroom, like the level below. The homeowners explained that, for now, the two younger boys share a bedroom as they enjoy each other’s company, while the other bedroom serves as a playroom. At the front of this level is a junior master bedroom for the eldest. The glass blocks make another appearance here, as well as in the connected junior master bathroom.
The fourth storey is the couple’s private space. The architecture is set back from the lower levels at the front and rear, resulting in a smaller footprint. The sleeping area opens onto a terrace lined with simple aluminium balustrades, while the master bathroom and walk-in wardrobe are conveniently positioned together in the centre. The husband’s study is at the rear so that he can work from home without disturbing his wife if she is asleep.
Such considerations contribute to a house that embraces family living without sacrificing sophistication. Yeo’s rational architectural expression, considered sense of scale, and continued use of light as both function and motif enhance liveability.
His summary of the project feels apt – a design drawing inspiration from “the soft effervescence of champagne and the delicate translucently of glass” and one that “embodies a quiet sophistication that celebrates light, texture and harmony.”
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