The Tropical Modern House

Raul A. Barreneche has searched the globe including such spectacular locales as Hawaii, St. Barts, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, and India to bring together a collection of luxurious modern homes designed by such luminaries as Isay Weinfeld, Marcio Kogan, Kerry Hill, and Patrick Jouin and Sanjit Manku, among many others.

Warm, inviting, embracing the indoor-outdoor lifestyle with a touch of the exotic, tropical modern homes are a dream of paradise realized. Contemporary tropical residential architecture has risen from a geographically specific homegrown aesthetic to a source of inspiration for the world’s great modern architects and designers. Set in exotic locales, with pools, lush foliage, colorful gardens, these homes define a way of life. Frequently elegant and uncluttered, the houses serve as models of smart and beautiful design with lots of ideas for homeowners who do not necessarily live in a tropical or subtropical climate, but who wish to have something of that appeal and sensitivity in their own home. This book presents some of the most innovative interpretations of the genre from the past five years by internationally recognized architects and interior decorators, such as Tadao Ando, as well the work of young up-and-comers of great talent, including German-born, Bali-based Alexis Dornier, and Mexico’s Roof Arquitectos. Selected residences span the globe, from the southern United States, the Caribbean, and tropical regions of Latin America, to Southeast Asia, northern Australasia, and Africa. Modern Tropical explores the exotic material, color, cultural, environmental, and aesthetic choices of some of contemporary architecture’s most beautiful residential properties. Each house is introduced with breathtaking interior and exterior photography and orientation plans, giving readers an in-depth glimpse of the rapidly evolving symbiosis between nature and shelter, indoor and outdoor, and rustic and polished, in a definitive examination of tropical modern living.

Tropical House celebrates a growing trend toward stylish globalization in interior design. More than 25 stunning houses and condos in and around Manila, the Philippines, evoke a distinctive tropical-modern-fusion style that is gaining popularity around the world. All these fine residences comprise a synthesis of East-West trends and contemporary furnishings—as Filipino designers merge sleek modernist furniture with local designers' "soulful creations" in natural hardwoods and other tropical materials. Over 250 full-color photographs of outstanding Filipino residences will inspire readers with their diverse and contemporary looks. From vintage glamour to classic modern with bold artful accents, to the clean, glam look known as "contemporary chic," this design book showcases the myriad tastes of the Philippines. The selection features modernist designs referred to as Zen or Minimalist; admires the modern Global Eclectics, those well-traveled collectors of beautiful objects from East and West; and celebrates the individualists who mix European furniture with acutely creative accents from local designers or who frame edgy artworks by Filipino artists with iconic design inspired by Japanese architecture. Such are the global interiors and architecture of today's tropical Asia.

Out with the cool, in with the hot. These houses by such luminaries as Oscar Niemeyer, Gio Ponti, Geoffrey Bawa, and Isay Weinfeld are a perfectly seamless continuum of indoor-outdoor space. The author has traveled the globe to bring together a collection of luxurious modern homes that combine modern technology with local, often exotic materials to produce rich designs of wood, metal, stucco, and glass. Water and breezeways figure prominently, and "green" eco-conscious features emerge naturally from the tropical design environment. This is a sophisticated survey of modern houses with open floor plans, exterior courtyards, sunny patios, and cool stucco surfaces all touched by the exotic flavors of their tropical locales. The combination of modern architectural form and tropical settings is extending and revitalizing modernism as never before.

With rich photography and insightful commentary, this Thai architecture and interior design book showcases some of the finest modern masterpieces in Southeast Asia. A tremendous body of sophisticated and sensitively designed architectural work has been produced in Thailand in the first decade of the 21st century. The 25 houses in The Modern Thai House illustrate the radical new ideas coming from a dynamic younger generation of architects who are producing work comparable with and sometimes even surpassing the very best architecture in the world. Most of these architects were trained in the U.S. or U.K. and reflect not only American and European sensibilities but also affinities with their contemporaries in Asia —including Japan, China, Singapore, and Bali—all hotbeds for innovation in modern design. The houses in this book are readily accessible from Bangkok, Phuket, and Chiangmai. They reflect a wide variety of concerns and solutions, such as: sustainability; responses to climate; strategies for cooling with minimal electricity; openness versus security in a large metropolis such as Bangkok; cultural sensitivity and responsiveness, as evidenced in a "three-generation house," built for a society in which the extended family is still prevalent; and cultural memory, as in the use of elements such as pilings, verandahs, and steeply pitched roofs with large overhangs that echo traditional Thai designs. Nurtured by an increasingly knowledgeable and wealthy clientele, modern architecture in Thailand is emerging with a variety of innovative architectural expressions.

25 Tropical Houses in Indonesia offers a selection of the best contemporary architecture and interior design in the archipelago. Architects working in Indonesia—and elsewhere in Southeast Asia—face the challenge not only of creating spaces to suit the lifestyles of their users but also of addressing the environmental and climatic problems associated with living in the tropics. Featured in this book are twenty-five of the most innovative solutions to these challenges by some of Indonesia's foremost architects, among them Jeffrey Budiman and Andra Matin. Economic crises and political change within the country have inspired a new spirit of appreciation of modernist architecture and fostered a wave of architectural creativity which is distinctly Indonesian, lively, and refreshing. Featured projects range from a new type of urban shop house to dramatic and flamboyant buildings emerging from the countryside. Drawing on classical Indonesian aesthetics and conventions and blending these with dynamic, cutting-edge design ideas, modern architecture in Indonesia has become dramatically aligned with international concepts of space, incorporating stunning local elements and materials.

Indonesia fosters many noteworthy architects who have amassed a remarkable collection of works. Tropical Houses showcases a compilation of house designs by an outstanding group of Indonesian architects. Highly illustrated and providing a wide scope in terms of design integrity, architectural sophistication and style, this book follows closely in the wake of its incredibly successful first volume, published in 2013, disclosing each architect's distinctive approach to the contemporary residential design realm. Featuring a wide range of design philosophies, projects are presented with full-colour photographs, visualising the detailed environment of every project and fully immersing the reader into every part of the house. Complete with detailed plans, sections, and elevation drawings, this book is an inspiring source for people in the architecture and design domains. AUTHOR: Imelda Akmal Architectural Writer Studio (IAAW Studio) is Indonesia's only writing studio that specialises in architecture and interior design. Founded by Imelda Akmal, an architect holding a Master's degree in architectural history and theory, Imelda is also a critic who dedicates herself to the production of architectural literature for both the general public and professional designers.The studio oversees every process of book's composition, from the concept development stage, through to writing, styling, photography and layout designing, up to the printing process with the publisher. Since its conception in 2002, IAAW Studio has produced over 100 titles about architecture and interior design, ranging through journals, monographs to coffee-table books, and continues to make a firm commitment to introducing Indonesian design throughout the world. SELLING POINTS: * A richly photographic display of inspiring designs for houses in tropical regions, by a great range of prolific Indonesian architects * Featuring a blend of detailed plans, sections, and elevation 260 colour images

The Tropical Asian House explores how cultural influences, tradition, religion, technology, and the forces of globalization fuse together to produce a contemporary tropical architecture.