Clever Cooling in Queen Astrid Park House in Singapore

The child growing up in this great hall of a house in a gorgeous climate has it good.

Like Ong & Ong and Guz architects before them, the architectural firm Aamer Architect embraces open air design and a sleek and sophisticated glamour.

Two key facts about Singapore account for its extraordinary architectural gems.

One. It’s only 85 miles from the equator.

And two. Wealth. With the world’s fourth-leading financial center globally, its five million residents have the third highest per capita income in the world.

Singapore’s financial wellbeing makes this kind of soaring architecture possible – and it’s proximity to the equator ensures open air design.

Only the bedroom, with its embroidered silk screen, is redolent of the more stuffy older houses of colonial era Singapore.

Like many houses in Singapore, a flat stretch of water outside acts to cool the few breezes passing through.

The barely-walled house appears to float like a lotus blossom on the water.

You are looking at a very unique natural cooling idea, executed with contemporary panache, that’s reminiscent of the Guz House that places an entire cooled room inside the pool.

The architect sinks a seating area right into the pool, placing the surface of the pool almost at eye level.

This not only creates the psychological effect of being immersed in its refreshing waters even when just relaxing nearby, but also, the concrete absorbs the cold from the water and chills that seating area.