Room Tour: This Serene Altar Room is All About Devotion

This expansive space dedicated to worship and cultural appreciation exudes Zen-like quietude and serenity

Siow Yuen Wong 30 June 2017

Houzz Contributor. Torn between my love for peering into people’s homes and writing, I picked both. I have been involved with both, working for several magazines over the last 21 years. Why choose?

Houzz Contributor. Torn between my love for peering into people’s homes and writing,... More

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The homeowner is a deeply religious man who attributes his business success to divine intervention and as such, felt a grand altar room was due. This room occupies the entire attic floor of his 4-storey detached house.

Produce

Room at a Glance: Altar room
Who lives here: A couple in their 60s
Location: Detached house in the North East
Designer: Produce

Pan Yi Cheng, design director of Produce says, “The project was a retrofitting project and we had to work with the existing non-aligned walls and structure. The main challenge was to create a space that not only flows seamlessly, but also create certain spatial symmetries as the design is influenced by traditional Chinese architecture.”

Produce

The maple wood altar is central to the 135-square metre (1,453 square feet) space and sits on a teak platform. Duogong, an important element in traditional Chinese architecture, prevails here. It refers to a unique structural element of interlocking wooden brackets and here, it is designed in a contemporary stylised way. The maple wood structure forms a canopy over the altar, visually sectioning it as a room without the need for walls.

Produce

The altar was designed under the strict dimensions given by the geomancer. The polished bare wood finish emphasises natural simplicity while the scale of the design projects a majestic yet harmonious atmosphere.

Produce

Devotees wash their hands before and after giving daily offerings at this granite sink which is set into a circular window reminiscent of a Chinese moon gate.

Produce

The house is situated at the highest point of the terrain and affords the attic a wide panoramic view.

The day beds flanking the circular mirror were designed to mask awkward nooks. Twice a month, on the first and fifteenth day of the Lunar calendar, the homeowner opens the tranquil spiritual place for congregational activities and there is ample space for up to 20 friends and colleagues.