Tropical living

This re-creation of a family home, tailored to its occupant’s lifestyles, was realised through careful consideration of layout and context. Gresham Street House is an example of vernacular architecture, the architect and Director of Jackson Teece, Daniel Hudson lived there for 6 years before taking on the redesign. Ultimately, he has taken an existing “Queenslander” and shaped the design to create a home that acts as the epitome of shelter in a harsh climate.   “Internally it was almost the opposite of what it should be. It was around the wrong way. So the main objective was to reconfigure the layout, the program of the house, without changing any of the wall locations.” - Daniel Hudson, Jackson Teece Di... More

The site for this bungalow house lies at a busy road junction in western Singapore with a long view axis towards the main road. An L-shaped building layout plan creates a private garden at the rear corner of the site. The architectural concept of the building lies in its linear mass which cradles this inner sanctuary, with views from the living and kitchen spaces on the ground storey centred towards the green landscaping. The intersection of building volumes also create view openings, and covered outdoor areas on the first storey as extensions of the living spaces. As part of tropical living in the local climate, air, natural light and greenery are allowed to penetrate the house through the use of large openings and skylight. The combined l... More

The site is elevated one floor above the road level which allows an access directly from the road level into a full basement comprising a large car park, entrance foyer, wine cellar and utility rooms. The form of the house takes on a series of overlapping boxes which emphasize the form of the slopping site. Whilst the expression is unconventional, the concept of tropical living prevails with light and ventilation coming in through courtyards and sheltered openings. Rooms are arranged around the courtyards which vertically connect the four levels of the house. To enhance the experience of arrival, the entry to the main level takes the visitor through water features in a courtyard flanked by granite cladded walls and steel posts. Th... More

Just a few houses make up the gated community where the house is inserted. Away from the most busy avenues in the city, it is dominated by a cozy silence and a well-wooded internal road. The differential of this interior project is certainly the affective component, noticeable in the client’s harmony with the different environments of the house.The design program envisaged a radical interior renovation; in order to become a welcoming home, geared towards meetings and family life.Reviewing the use and materiality of the backyard, at the back of the house, was one of the strongest aspects of the project, in order to take the barycenter of the space to be on the limit between "inside" and "outside". The dividing element is central to t... More

Located in a very exclusive suburb, this residence enjoys the rare luxury of a private tennis court, which is one of the main features of this property. Removing the dated extension from the early 90s, the proposed design opens the house to the tennis court towards north and to the pool area to the east. Modernised and reorganised ground floor living areas with a centrally located kitchen facilitate contemporary subtropical living in the ground floor, with large bi-folds allowing for ample natural ventilation.   At the same time, the large overhang of the upper floor veranda shades the living areas. A feature stair is placed into the large light well, which becomes the ‘heart’ of the house providing a strong sense of ligh... More

Bennison is a contemporary new family home that prioritizes the landscape and connection to outdoors with sub-tropical living as its primary focus. Built within a character precinct, the house strategically subverts the ‘timber and tin’ aesthetic in a way that remains sensitive to its context and sense of place. The plan form of the house incorporates a series of courtyards that creates a direct visual connection to the landscape, while also maximising and directing winter sun deep into the home. The overt use of timber as the primary building material talks to a sense of craft and detail that is manifest in every element of the home. The timber is complimented by a restrained palette including rough and finished stone that are... More

B House is a modern reinterpretation of a black and white bungalow in the 21st century. Its green credentials not only promotes the carbon well-being of the natural environment, but also the health and well-being of its inhabitants. By doing this, the B House sets new standards in redefining Asian tropical living, and is a pioneering carbon negative home in Singapore. More

Úbáli Tropical Living develops eco-friendly modular homes for private and hotel projects in Costa Rica, a Franco-Costa Rican alliance that consists of the implementation of pre-designed structures that respond to a series of tourist development problems for expatriates and nationals who decide to open an hotel business or a private tiny-house to rent on collaborative platforms.   The owners Arthur Micheron, Architect and Pablo Valle, Civil engineer of Úbáli tropical living created a line of modular houses designed as customizable products in accordance with the Costa Rican physical, social and economic context. Its creation was named Úbáli, which means Chameleon in the Costa Rican indigenous... More

Amaroo is a stunning new build family home in Brisbane's inner west suburb of Bardon. Sited on a wide fronted, sloping block in the leafy river city suburb the design provides for the ultimate sub-tropical living that maximises vast open connection to highly considered private outdoor spaces. What was the brief?The brief was to provide a high end, family haven that is both hidden from the world and highly connected to the outside. The clients wanted to create a resort feel that was light & open with the balance of still being warm, textural and homely - an escape from the city. What were the key challenges?The challenge was to accommodate a family home on a steeply sloping block What were the solutions?The challenge of the site beca... More

The Big Small House embodies “The Least House Necessary” philosophy, embracing client/architectcollaboration, and presenting a new model for sustainable tropical living that is grounded in successfulhistoric precedents. The brief called for an efficient, passively cooled family home in a tropical gardensetting, made of honest, affordable materials. A ground floor studio and bathroom were required toaccommodate varying mobility. There was also a desire for the house to perform as a gallery for theartist in the family. The design is purposefully two storeys, maximising area for the garden.   In section, the house reflects traditional Queenslanders with the upper floor overhanging the lower, layeringclimatic protection from... More

The brief called for a 75,000 sq.ft. mixed development project inclusive of a supermarket, fashion & other retail outlets , a food court, carparks and 4 furnished apartments for short term stays. The design intended to fit into the street scale of mostly 2-3 storey buildings while highlighting it’s retail functions. It responds to the corner plot with an attractive triple height entrance. In addition to stairs both elevators and escalators encourage vertical transportation within the retail floors. The top floors are set back from the street edge allowing for scale adjustment and creates an open terrace with breathtaking ocean views towards the Indian Ocean. This terrace acts as the alfresco area of the food court. The apartments have b... More

A spectacular coastal site called for a complementary beach house to integrate with the landscape and take advantage of ocean, light and views: striking the perfect balance between prospect and refuge. Located on Central Queensland's 'Discovery Coast', Springs Beach House harnesses the incredible views of the Coral Sea and across the cresting waves towards the headland at Seventeen Seventy, the site where Captain James Cook first landed in Queensland in 1770. The site is a bushy escarpment, falling dramatically towards the beach and view to the north.The single-storey beach house nestles carefully into the site, paying reverence to the stunning natural landscape, rather than dominating. A sunken grassed courtyard, screened by low walls... More

Sicart& Smith Architects is an international boutique design firm located in Vietnam at Ho Chi Minh City. Lead by Franck Sicart and Julien Smith, 2 French architects, the company develops modern and tropical design in architecture and interior design. The concept of 180 Samui started with the analysis of this particular site: A breath-taking view to Chaweng bay (KohSamui, Thailand) and a massive rock where the project has to hang on. The result is a horizontal design, low rooflines and a simple color and material palette to make the space belong to the environs. The villa is organized around an impressive pool overlooking the view, set up perpendicular to the main rock giving a dramatic effect of being cantilevered. A three-sided... More

A house for a soon-to-be-retired couple, Inverdon House certainly challenges ‘the norm’ in the small regional town where it is located. This is largely for its use of the hard-wearing, low-maintenance material of masonry which would otherwise typically be hidden in paint, plasterboard and render. Instead, the material has been left exposed, revealing the structure in such a way that means the craftsmanship is on show for all to see and so must be made with care, pride and a certain level of expertise. This means that a new skill is passed on to younger trades people and if the demand for quality is there, this skill-set will continue. The current local housing model mostly ignores passive design principles, closing down to the elements rath... More