SINGAPORE – The Lim couple spent two splendid decades in Beijing, where they built thriving tech careers, raised three children and lived by its rhythms – from cycling alongside the Great Wall to amassing Chinese contemporary art.
They were in China “from pandemic to pandemic”, living through Sars and Covid-19 before transitioning to Singapore, says the husband, 58, now a human resources consultant.
To anchor their homecoming, the family worked with Wu Yen Yen from Genome Architects to create a permanent family sanctuary – an “ah kong’s house” inspired by the revered aesthetic of Beijing’s grey-brick courtyard houses.
Adapted for the tropics, their corner terrace nestled in the Holland Road area was completed before Chinese New Year, in time to celebrate family bonds and continuity with a small reunion dinner amid unopened boxes.
“My parents provided me with a safe place I could always return to, and that allowed me to go overseas,” Lim says. The former Anglo-Chinese School boy, who flourished in China despite his less-robust Chinese-language background, adds: “I wanted to provide that same base for my kids so when they go on their own adventures, there’s always an anchor point for everyone.”
His 60-year-old wife, a recent retiree, pictures their home as “a place where you can send your mail” wherever its family members wander. The Lims have two daughters, 33 and 22, who live in Singapore, a 20-year-old son studying in the United States, and a newborn granddaughter. For privacy, the family asked not to be identified by their full names.
Their house was bought 19 years ago. Working with principal architect Wu – some planning was done over Zoom from China – they kept the structural bones while adding one level to the house. The roof and facade of the 2½-storey house were reimagined.
Some garden space was bought to augment the plot, now approximately 350 sq m. Built-in area is about 310 sq m.
Their Grey Brick Vault House project took about two years from exploratory discussions with Wu to completion, and cost a seven-figure sum.
‘Perfectly imperfect grey bricks’
The layout is flipped, with the bedrooms facing greenery on the ground level and the living spaces on the second storey.
PHOTO: FINBARR FALLON
Instead of the glass and gloss of modern Singapore showpieces, grey brick clads the new facade.
In Beijing, grey brick wraps the hutong (network of alleys) and siheyuan (courtyard houses) that skirt the Imperial Palace. While the Forbidden City flaunts dazzling vermillion walls and yellow roof tiles, the precinct was restricted to a quiet, deeply dignified grey.
Grey historically conveyed humility and restraint, a signal that no citizen, however wealthy, should outshine the emperor.
The facade is clad in grey bricks, like the courtyard houses in Beijing. Each grey brick weathers differently in Singapore’s weather, creating a “living patina”.
PHOTO: FINBARR FALLON
The husband, who never desired a show house, did some research.
In the past, what set grey brick apart from its standard red counterpart, he discovered, was an extra firing step known poetically as “drinking the kiln”.
The artisan poured water, triggering a chemical process that converted the brick into dark, multi-tonal iron oxides. Significantly, the final grey brick was dense and strong.
“The patina of the bricks changes a little over time,’’ he says.
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