Inside of Asia's 10 most beautiful contemporary homes
Most of these houses offer a relaxing atmosphere that is both defined by and offset by a strong modern design concept
1. AN House, in Jakarta, Indonesia
Jakarta-based architecture consultancy D'Associates transformed an old villa in Sanur, Bali, into a contemporary family home that is, at the same time, a visual feast. In this almost 900-square-metre villa located in Sanur, a powerfully relaxing atmosphere is both defined by and offset by a strong modern and tropical design concept. It was the undulating, curvilinear form of the landscape, as well as the existing home, that the architectural team at Jakarta-based D'Associates took as their inspiration for the new home's design.
2. Saigon House, in Ho Chi Minh City
House-shaped rooms are connected by staircases and bridges inside this three-metre-wide house in Ho Chi Minh City, which was named house of the year at the World Architecture Festival. Named Saigon House, the four-storey property was designed by Vietnamese office a21studio to provide a family home for the client and her children, but with enough room for her parents and siblings to stay as well. This inspired a design where every room in the house is modelled on a small dwelling, and the ground floor becomes a terrace where the family gather together. In this way, the whole building becomes a vertical village.
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3. 17 Blair Road, in Singapore
17 Blair Road is located within the Blair Plain Conservation area. The owners, a French Singaporean family, were deeply involved in numerous aspects of the conservation project. What they wanted was a warm family home that would also display much of its historical character. The shophouse had been in a bad state, having been stripped of its historical characteristics and renovated for office use. With much support from the client, the architects ONG&ONG made a conscious effort to bring these traditional elements back while also reinstating the shophouse to residential use. Considering the scale of the restorative work required the final product is both a perfect home for the modern family as well as a fitting tribute to the shophouse's history.
4. Courtyard House, in Changhua, Taiwan
This is an ambitious project for a 3-generation family in Changhua, Taiwan. The site is located on the roof of an existing one-story factory building. The initial idea was to create a contemporary Chinese courtyard house with a "回" shaped volume, a layout with individual living units and shared family spaces. They are connected by a looped corridor and separated by small light wells. This is a project trying to re-define a modern Chinese courtyard house and explore how space can be divided individually but stay closely connected.
5. House by the Lake, in Colombo, Sri Lanka
A Sri Lankan traditional and tropical tool in architecture, the courtyard is the most distinguishing feature of the residence. This sub-urban house facing the Akuregoda Lake is constructed on a narrow, linear and slopey plot. There are two narrow roads along the long boundaries on either side. The developments (structures) on these two sides are not desirable to look at. The design solution was to create an introverted house, while having a strong spatial relationship with the lake, using the existing slope. A fairly large garden was kept in the front to make the house inconspicuous from the lake side and helping to maintain a green belt around the lake.
6. Marble House, in Bangkok, Thailand
Perched right in the heart of Bangkok, Thailand, local design firm Openbox Architects had envisioned for this two-storey living space to resemble an entire "monolithic piece of marble sculpture". With an upper brick structure that is clad in white marble panels – elegantly adorned in twirls of grey – the mansion certainly does give the appearance of great sturdiness. Residual marble fragments and panels are designed into the flooring and walls as part of the home's main design feature. This lends to a beautiful visual cohesiveness with its exterior, the bold detailing of which echo the interior environment created.
7. Paranaque House, in Manila, Philippines
Located in the Metropolitan Manila municipality of Parañaque, in one of its many low-density 'villages', this dwelling adopts the traditional courtyard-house type inherited from the centuries when the Philippines was a Spanish colony. Based on this scheme, and stacked to generate a markedly stepped volume, the floor plan is structured in three bands: an exterior one, lower, corresponding to the lobby and the garage; an intermediate one without roofing, where the courtyard is located; and an interior one, rising three heights, which shelters the private living areas.
8. Shadow House, in Alibag, India
A weathered steel roof slopes over the gravelled courtyard at the centre of this concrete house in western India, which architect Samira Rathod has designed to offer residents plenty of shade from the sun. The Shadow House is located in Alibaug, a coastal town located south of Mumbai in the Indian state of Maharashtra.
Mumbai-based architect Samira Rathor wrapped the 5,000-square-foot residence around a central yard, partially covered by a Corten steel roof that slopes downwards with a slight overhang. This layout, which references traditional courtyard houses in southern India, aims to offer shelter from the hot sun and aids air flow for ventilation.
9. Suryamzhu, in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
'Suryamzhu' Ray of Light (RoL) House is a single-storey, 520-square-metre house, built on an approximately 1,000-square-metre site in a suburban setting of Bukit Gasing, Petaling Jaya. The house embraces Miesian minimalism in its form and massing through the display of the following qualities: minimal rectangular boxes enclosed by floating roof slabs; simple geometry of open plans; layering of interior and exterior spaces with maximum transparency; floor-to-ceiling glass sliding or folding panels; and exposed structure grids. The house is also a description of large glass areas that can be completely opened, adding to an appreciation of the house as linked to transparent or open pavilions.
10. Residence Rabbits, in Bangkok, Thailand
Nestled in a quiet residential neighbourhood of Bangkok, Residence Rabbit is orchestrated by the Boon Design. Known for his unique design and positive attitudes, the architect Boonlert Hemvijitraphan offers us another alternative solution for an urban home. Being a home for a young couple and their son, three requirements predicated the design of the house. It should be able to grow along with the gradual transformation of lives that occupy it; it must accommodate two generations whose preferences and needs widely differ; and it has to provide close connection to the natural environment despite being located in the heart of a metropolis. The architecture was created within basic design principles to deal with Thailand's extreme climate.
