Questions and answers.
What people ask before buying or building a landed home with TMB Development in Singapore — answered once, in one place.
How TMB works, and buying with us
How does TMB decide what to build on a site?
The land decides. We read what a site allows and what it asks for before a scheme is drawn, and let the answer set the brief rather than fitting a predetermined brief onto the plot.
What does a feasibility study look at?
Five things in order: the land itself — parcel, levels, orientation and what is already growing; site conditions such as access, frontage, setbacks, neighbours and light; feasibility, meaning what the envelope allows tested against what it costs; the design opportunity the site actually supports; and only then the development, built around the findings rather than around a target.
Can you assess my land before I decide what to do with it?
Yes. An early assessment by TMB can help you understand the opportunities, constraints and potential options before moving into detailed design.
What does viability mean in a feasibility study?
Whether the best version of the scheme is also the buildable one. A design that the site permits but the numbers do not support is not a viable scheme, and neither is the reverse.
Do you work on land I already own?
Yes. Whether you are considering a development or have a site you are weighing up, the starting point is the same — we look at the land first and tell you what we find.
Living in the house
How does TMB design a house around the way people live?
We begin with the people, not just the property. From daily routines and entertaining to privacy, wellness and family time, we consider how each space will be used to create a home that feels intuitive and personal
Where does the morning light go in a TMB house?
To the kitchen and the garden door, which take the first sun, so the day starts in the part of the house that is already awake.
How does the development respond to Singapore's climate?
Orientation, shading, ventilation, greenery and material choices are considered to create homes that are comfortable and responsive to Singapore's tropical environment.
How do you design for multi-generational living?
We consider the needs of different generations through thoughtful zoning, accessibility, privacy and shared spaces — allowing families to live together without compromising individual routines.
Is every TMB house arranged the same way?
No. Each is arranged for how that house will actually be lived in. At 39 Westlake Avenue the land was split by use, so one house takes a garden and the other takes water, rather than the same house being built twice.
How a house performs
How does TMB approach sustainability in a development?
By deciding it early. Orientation, shade, planting and material are settled before a scheme is fixed, because those decisions do most of the work and then keep doing it for as long as the building stands.
What actually reduces cooling load in a Singapore house?
Placing rooms against the sun rather than against the plan, and building the shade in — depth, overhangs and screening at the facade, before glazing performance is asked to compensate. The cheapest cooling is the shade you design in.
Does a sustainable house depend on mechanical systems?
The opposite. Cross-breezes are kept open through the plan so that mechanical systems support the house rather than substitute for it.
What happens to the planting already on a site?
Mature planting is retained where it stands, and new planting is chosen for the climate it has to live in. The ground is kept permeable, the drainage considered, and irrigation sized to what is actually planted.
Why does material durability count as sustainability?
Because the longest-lived building is the low-carbon one. Materials are chosen for how they age rather than for how they look on handover.
Can sustainable design still feel luxurious?
Absolutely. Sustainability is not about compromising on comfort or aesthetics. The goal is to create homes where thoughtful design, long-term performance and elevated living work together.
Smart home systems
Which smart home systems go into a TMB house?
Simon for switches, sockets and keypads; Casambi for lighting control; Sonos for sound; and CCTV for security. Each is chosen as the specialist system for its job, rather than one brand doing all four adequately.
Is the smart home planned during design, or added once the house is built?
During design. Cable routes, keypad positions and speaker locations are drawn with the rooms, so nothing has to be chased into a finished wall later.
Does a TMB smart home still work without a phone?
Yes. The controls sit where you reach for them — a keypad by the door, a scene by the bed. The phone is an extra way in, never the only one, because a house should still work when the battery is flat.
How does Casambi lighting control work?
Every fitting is individually dimmable and grouped into scenes over Bluetooth, controlled from a switch or an app, with no central hub to fail.
Can music play through the whole house?
Yes. Sonos plays in one room or through the whole house, with speakers set into ceilings and walls so the sound arrives without the equipment showing.
Can I check the CCTV when I am away from home?
Yes. Cameras cover the gate, the approach and the boundary, recording on site, and can be viewed from anywhere when you are not there.
Does every TMB development have the same smart home systems?
Ask about the development you are interested in — the enquiry form reaches the team directly, and the answer comes from what that house specifies.
The longer answers.
The Journal's guides take each of these further: rebuilding, planning, cost and what a site allows.
