Hyphen Architects’ House of Rain Rediscovers Tropical Living

Architect Chih Wen’s House of Rain redefines tropical living, inviting wind, sun and rain into a restored 1950s home

Built on the bones of a 1950s bungalow, the House of Rain by Hyphen Architects in Singapore is a meditation on climate, comfort and craft. Architect Chih Wen drew inspiration from Japanese precedents such as Tadao Ando’s Azuma House, for its raw dialogue with weather, and Ryue Nishizawa’s Moriyama House, for its openness to neighbourhood life. The result is a home whose unsheltered courtyard serves as both anchor and challenge, asking its inhabitants to recalibrate daily rituals in tune with rain and sun. ‘We wanted to experience the whims of the weather rather than shut it out,’ Wen explains. Retained original materials, from timber rafters to patterned tiles, hark back to the home’s past, while new interventions like louvred walls and a courtyard bath articulate a renewed vision of tropical living.

Images by Khoogj