Asia has new appetite for sustainable homes, says Paul McGillick
Regional trend does away with freezing air conditioning and uses fresh air, natural light and water features to create cool homes
Fresh air, natural light, and spatial variety are terms not instantly associated with an Asian city. But this is the way home design is moving in some densely populated urban strongholds, and it's not just the architecture that is changing.
Imagine a house in which the occupants don't want air conditioning (even though they can well afford it); they prefer to reuse and restore than rebuild; and where two or even three generations of a family can coexist under one roof - in harmony.
We're trending this way, says Sydney-based Dr Paul McGillick, a writer and editor in the fields of architecture, art and design, owing to a growing desire to "live more authentically". Architecture's contribution to "what is needed for a good and fulfilling life" is examined in his book, The Sustainable Asian House (Tuttle Publishing).
Previous books by McGillick, who is editor of two architecture magazines, Indesign and Habitus, include Concrete, Metal, Glass (2007) a study of the leading Malaysian commercial architecture practice, Hijjas Kasturi Associates, and 25 Tropical Houses in Singapore and Malaysia (2006).
The past 20 years have been an "ongoing revelation" of how architecture in the tropics is evolving, McGillick says, illustrating his point in 27 homes across the region, specifically Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
While the featured homes all have a strong element of environmental sustainability, McGillick insists his latest work is "not just another book on 'greener' architecture".