Welcome to How They Pulled It Off, where we take a close look at one particularly challenging aspect of a home design and get the nitty-gritty details about how it became a reality.

In Singapore, the vast majority of citizens live in high-rise apartments built by the government called Housing & Development Board (HBD) flats. So, as one can imagine, there are plenty of limitations to how you can renovate a public housing unit. When Alex Liu acquired his maisonette-style HBD flat—a maisonette is similar to a duplex in America—in the central-north region of Singapore with his wife and children, he and his brother Jay Liu, both cofounders of the interior architecture firm Right Angle Studio, knew they wanted to reconfigure the previous blockade layout.

Inspired by airy and minimalist Japanese interiors, the brothers knocked down walls to help open up the space. Blonde wood paneling details were constructed. Indoor garden moments were planted. And instead of traditional paint, a cream-colored microcement was layered onto walls to offer more depth and texture. To get around HBD renovation rules, the brothers devised clever ways to create an illusion of custom architecture by conceiving a few fake out areas. The nine-month-long renovation project includes an artificial skylight, an artificial courtyard, and an artificial fireplace.

“We couldn’t amend the original staircase so we created a casing that wraps over the base of the bottom steps to change the orientation of the landing,” says Jay, who serves as the firm’s art director. In the dining area, lights were subtly placed in and below the shelving unit to provide extra warmth and ambience.

Once the brothers figured out how to reorient the staircase, they designed a built-in planter at the base of the steps to accommodate a small tree, “almost like a courtyard in the center of the house,” says Jay. They settled on an artificial tree (for practical reasons), a Japanese maple that sits in a pot of sturdy styrofoam with gravel layered on top.

From the second floor, you can see the top of the artificial Japanese Maple peeking over the railing. Above the tree is an artificial skylight to give the illusion that natural sunlight is nourishing the plant—a cheeky trick. To achieve this, the brothers built a second ceiling 25 centimeters (roughly 10 inches) below the flat’s concrete ceiling. In between these two ceilings, dimmable lights that produce a soft, even glow were installed. This skylight operates with a light switch. “For the skylight, we intentionally chose a specific temperature to mimic the sun: 6500 Kelvin,” says Jay. On the far wall, the brothers created a complementary light source, in the shape of square brackets, to evoke a piece of minimalist modern art.

How they pulled it off: A faux skylight in the middle of a duplex

The architects worked with a team that specializes in gypsum boar (also known as drywall) to build a lowered ceiling with support arms 25 centimeters from the original ceiling.
6500 Kelvin LED strips were used to best mimic the brightness of the sun.
A wiring system with an integrated dimmer was installed so the brightness of the skylight can be adjusted to mimic the sun.
A piece of frosted acrylic Perspex is used in place of a glass window so that the wiring and light bulbs are not visible.
The architects created a concealed panel on the ceiling near the light box that allows access to the electrical drivers if bulbs need to be replaced. This panel can be reached with a ladder.

In the living room, another fake out design element takes center stage. “This fireplace is artificial because Singapore is obviously very hot and there’s no winter here,” says Jay. “What you’re seeing in the fireplace is actually mist.”

Opposite the artificial fireplace is a custom couch and a preinstalled air conditioner that the brothers concealed with a slatted covering made from solid ash.

Miniature gardens are peppered throughout the maisonette—some real, some fake. On the balcony, a living Japanese everfresh thrives in a planter. Ferns and moss accompany the tree at the base.

In a corridor where the wall curves around a corner, the brothers built a nightlight for the children into the wall, along with another mini garden featuring a koelreuteria elegans. “We worked with landscape artists to use real plants for this but they said eventually we will need to put these in a planter,” says Jay.

For the primary bedroom, “the idea again was to create a very Japanese, nonintrusive kind of sleeping environment,” says Jay. “So we made this elevated floor out of Bolon, a [woven vinyl flooring design] from Sweden. Stepping on the woven texture feels nice and soft right before you go to sleep, or as the first thing you step onto in the morning.”

Project Credits:

Architect: Right Angle Studio

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How They Pulled It Off: A Faux Skylight and Fireplace in the Middle of a Duplex Apartment