多代同堂的传统四合院是儒家思想在栖居空间上的诠释，“同一屋檐”隐喻了共居概念。在新加坡私宅项目中，如恩从四合院汲取灵感，使建筑成为连接家庭成员之间的情感纽带。在委托时，业主提出了一些构想：首先，原址重建的住宅空间能够容纳兄弟姐妹三人及各自组建的家庭；其次，能有一座花园，以纪念他们已故的母亲；最后，保留旧建筑中的坡屋顶设计，作为他们童年回忆的寄托。旧建筑带有英国殖民时期独栋平房的风格，融入了维多利亚风格的装饰细节以及当地的传统马来建筑元素，其遮风避雨的深屋檐依稀可辨。鉴于当地的自然气候，坡屋顶满足了建筑的功能性，同时也是栖居者情感依恋的表达。如恩将坡屋顶的意象与四合院的建筑形式融合，为传统建筑带来新的诠释与解读。
The traditional Chinese courtyard house or siheyuan is a typology well-known for its illustration of Confucian ideals, accommodating extended family units wherein many generations live under one roof. To live under the same roof means to live together, and this metaphor is the nexus that ties the notion of community, especially in an intimate context, to the form crafted for this project. For this private residence commission, Neri&Hu are given a set of unique requests by the client: the new house constructed in place of the previous one should accommodate all three siblings, who as adults have outgrown their shared house; it should include a small memorial space in the form of a garden for their late mother; lastly, the new construction should retain the memory of the pitched-roof form, a defining feature of their childhood home. The previous house was built in the style of the British colonial bungalow, with hybrid elements of traditional Malay houses such as deep roof eaves for rain sheltering, as well as Victorian details. Understanding the functional importance of the roof and the client’s emotional attachment to its form, Neri&Hu embrace the symbolic nature of the pitched roof and combine it with a reinterpretation of the courtyard house.