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“pRObabLy IN my pRevIOuS LIFe, I waS JapaNeSe,” JeSTS

Antonio Eraso. “I’m really drawn to the aesthetics of the Japanese on all levels – graphics, packaging, sense of place and the craft.” A look through the Singapore-based architect’s portfolio, it’s hard not to disagree. From the immaculate golden metal-perforated ceiling that soars through One Fullerton’s Jing Restaurant (2008) to residential spaces with an almost Zen-like restraint, his spaces not only reflect a Japanese sensitivity, but also a bespoke touch. The Colombian-born architect first came to Singapore as a senior associate of New York’s Tsao & Tsao McKown Architects to oversee the development of Suntec City in 1991. Subsequently, he returned to the Big Apple, but a sabbatical trip around the world drew him back here where in 2002 he established his own firm. To date, much-publicised projects like Esquina Tapas Bar (2012), as well as the upcoming Pollen restaurant in Gardens by the Bay has seen his profile rise. One of his earlier projects is the extensive addition and alteration of a bungalow along Swiss Club Road. As with all his other projects, it bears Eraso’s sensitive and distilled design language. Nestled among lush landscape and set back from the road, the existing house, while charming, was not suited to the needs of its new occupants – a three-generational family with two children. Expansion LIGHT FLOw:

Openings to the living room were enlarged, bringing in more light and views GRaND STaRT:

One arrives via the ceremonial drivway to the original front portico

was necessary but, as Eraso shares, had to be done with restraint as the owners did not want the site to be overwhelmed. Like a skilful tailor, he stitched together old and new so seamlessly that it’s hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. Firstly, a new bedroom wing was added and the existing interiors re-organised. “The living area was a series of spaces that needed to be interconnected so what we did was open up walls in the existing structure without knocking them down,” Eraso explains. As a result, the spaces

June July 2012

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