In land-scarce Singapore, owners often request houses that fill up as much of the site as the building codes allow to maximize the economic value of the property. In contrast, here, the desire to replace lost greenery and landscape drove this project's concept. The Sunset Vale House inverts the typical bungalow house in garden concept; it is a garden landscape captured and infused into a house setting.

The organizing principle is a series of courtyards and voids designed to set up a series of telescoping long views contrasted against compressive short views through the house. Because of the relatively small site, views of the foreground and distance are carefully framed by the architecture so as to create an impression of large spaciousness. The landscape courtyards, pools and gardens make their appearance at multiple levels in the house, from the entrance, ground level, basement, second level and roof top. It is as if a solid mass of earth was extruded from the ground and carved out for inhabitation. The intent is to blur the distinction between architecture and landscape in a tectonic way. The house has also been an experiment in craft. The exquisite concrete work has been paired with various metal, glass, stone and timber elements meant to take advantage of craft traditions still available in Southeast Asia.