Pinklao Shophouse reimagines an aging five-and-a-half-storey shophouse as a multigenerational home—transforming a once utilitarian urban shell into a warm, vertically layered residence for a family and their extended family. Rather than resisting the inherent proportions of the shophouse typology, the design embraces its narrow footprint and stacked structure, using each level as a distinct yet interconnected domain. The ground floor is conceived as the communal heart of the house, where dining, kitchen, and service functions are organized around everyday gathering and shared rituals, while the mezzanine is inserted as a dedicated office layer overlooking the space below, establishing a quieter zone for work without losing connection to the life of the home.
Designed for a family living across multiple generations, the house accommodates both shared and individual ways of living within a compact urban footprint. Bedrooms are distributed across the upper floors for different family members, while family rooms, service spaces, and a mezzanine office are carefully inserted to support everyday routines, work, and gathering. The renovation turns the constraints of the shophouse typology into an advantage, using vertical zoning to balance intimacy with communal living.
A House Organized by Generations
Ground Floor
The ground floor acts as the communal heart of the house, accommodating shared living and dining spaces that bring the family together in daily life.
Mezzanine
Positioned above the main living level, the mezzanine is conceived as a home office—an intermediate zone between work and domestic life that remains visually connected to the spaces below.
Second and Third Floors
These floors are organized as private residential levels, with bedrooms, bathrooms, walk-in closets, and family lounges distributed according to the needs of individual family members.
Upper Floor and Rooftop
At the top of the house, the program expands into more relaxed family spaces, service functions, and an open rooftop level that introduces light, air, and a sense of retreat to the dense urban structure.
