Based in Singapore, Wallflower Architecture + Design creates ultimate tropical dream homes for a steamy rainforest climate, each one laid out for optimal air flow, natural cooling and views of the lush vegetation and blue skies outside. Founded in 1999 by Tan Chai Chong Robin and Cecil Chee, the firm “believes that beauty and cleverness are inseparable in excellent design, the value of which enhances the environment in which we work and live and ultimately, enriches the human experience and spirit.”

This philosophy is evident in every one of their private residential projects, many of which center upon a crystalline water feature. Bold, distinctly Singaporean and undeniably luxurious, these homes are like the summer getaway houses the rest of us can only dream of.

The Secret Garden House, Wallflower’s most recent residential project, exemplifies the firm’s aesthetics and ethos. Set in an affluent bungalow area known as Bukit Timah, the home is located on uneven terrain with narrow street frontage, and it’s surrounded by neighbors on all sides. Wallflower envisioned a ‘secret garden’ to shield the 13,900-square-foot home from prying eyes, hiding most of the structure’s mass within the steep portion of the site. Though it seems to be just two levels from the street, the rest of it spills down the hillside to enjoy the views. One of its coolest features is an oculus gazing from the garage up into a reflecting pool in the yard.

Combining the convenience of urban living with tropical vibes, security and privacy, Forever House was a dream fulfilled for both the clients and the architects. Wallflower was given a ‘no expense to be spared’ mandate along with a wish list of features, like a 6-car garage and a 25-meter pool. The home has a striking angular appearance from the street, and it only gets more gorgeous from there, with a mature tree set into an island in the T-shaped pool and a glut of silver travertine and black basalt stone contrasting with gleaming wood inside.

With ‘Enclosed Open,’ Wallflower gave a family concerned with security a fully fenced ‘compound’ that looks nothing like you’d expect based on that description. Instead of feeling like a fortress, it’s airy and accessible, but spaces that are normally visible to neighbors – like pools and gardens – are shielded within a spacious courtyard.

Next Page - Click Below to Read More:
Summer Houses 7 Tropical Dream Dwellings By Wallflower Architecture Design

Like oversized aquariums made for humans, these glass-walled swimming pools put bathers on display and making splashing in shimmering waters the defining feature of the homes, hotels and apartment blocks they’re built into. Transparent sides or floors allow them to peer into adjacent interiors or look down onto landscapes, blurring the lines between these watery worlds and the spaces around them.

North Bondi by CplusC Architects

A glass-walled lap pool runs along the edge of the North Bondi residence by CplusC Architects, hemmed in on the other side by an envelope-like perforated privacy screen that protects the home from noise and the eyes of neighbors.

Villa Clessidra by LAAV Architects

Villa Clessidra by LAAV Architects is a modern three-story vacation home in the forest for relaxing getaways, sliced right through the middle by a swimming pool occupying a ‘transparent zone’ with glass walls, floors and ceilings so it’s visible from all around.

Farrar Residence by Peter Bohlin and Greg Mottola

A glass-ended infinity pool overlooks an aspen-covered mountainside in Park City, Utah, extending out over a tumbling stream. “The rhythm of columns that flank the pool progressively tightens, creating a false perspective,” says Bohlin Cywinski Jackson architects. “The line between interior and exterior is blurred. The relation to earth, sky and the materials of the house shifts with the changes in light and season on the mountain.”

Spa House by Metropolis Design

Not only do operable glass walls slide all the way open to welcome a lap pool into this home’s interior – as well as the larger connected swimming pool out back – but glass windows in the water connect the pools to the home’s lowest level, creating the feel of being in a submarine.

Next Page - Click Below to Read More:
Modern Homes For Mermaids 12 Houses Built Around Swimming Pools

Ceilings retract and glazed walls swing open to connect intimate indoor spaces with courtyards, terraces and gardens in these modern residences blurring the lines between indoors and out. Located everywhere from Colorado to Kuala Lumpur, these open-air homes take advantage of mild climates and spectacular views, with alternatives to conventional walls enabling natural ventilation and a sense of being connected to nature.

Kloof House, Johannesburg, South Africa

Every room in the sculptural Kloof House by Nico van der Meulen Architects opens directly to the outdoors via gigantic sliding glass walls. The kitchen, living room, dining room and bedrooms can all be fully connected to various outdoor spaces like courtyards, balconies and gardens. The swimming pool becomes part of the living room area, and one bedroom connects to a cantilevered koi pond.

The Fish House, Singapore

This modern tropical residence in Singapore seamlessly integrates courtyard spaces into the interiors on every level for natural ventilation and nearly uninterrupted views of the ocean. A glass-walled lounge cantilevers out over the swimming pool, and residents can walk up onto the green roof, which is partially shaded with solar panels.

Loft 24-7, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Decks and terraces connect the various freestanding volumes that make up Loft 24-7 by Fernanda Marques Arquitetos Associados, with the effect continued indoors using glazed walls and ceilings. “Being inside feeling like one is outside. I believe that to be a key issue in understanding the interior design being produced today,” says the architect. “In times when environmental awareness is growing, and, of course, also the desire to be close to nature.”

Casa P, Sao Paulo, Brazil

The ground floor of Casa P by Studio MK27 is enclosed with a slatted wooden ‘freijó’ wall, which acts as a privacy screen and offers natural ventilation. These oversized shutters can be opened completely to connect the interiors to the courtyard. Two more concrete volumes are stacked on top of the first, with the topmost one boasting all-glass walls for optimal views.

Willow House, Singapore

Greenery from the planted roof drips down into a living space via an open oculus, living spaces overlook swimming pools and reflecting pools, and trees grow indoors in this boundary-blurring house by Guz Architects. Taking advantage of Singapore’s warm, humid climate, the tropical residence blends traditional Singaporean architectural typologies with modern aesthetics.

Next Page - Click Below to Read More:
Blurring Boundaries 14 Modern Houses That Open To The Air

Daydream about escaping into an aquatic paradise of your very own in the form of a modern swimming pool that puts swimmers on display with a glass floor, appears in your ballroom at the push of a button or seems to blend right into a tropical sea on the horizon. These drool-worthy swim spots include a private living room pool in a five-story New York City townhouse, an interior courtyard pool accessible by a glass hatch in the floor, and a shady oasis in a Grecian cave.

Cantilevered Rooftop Pool with a Glass Floor

Not only does this swimming pool cantilever off the roof of a modern concrete home in coastal Spain “so the beach and sea can always be seen while sunbathing or swimming,” it’s got a glass floor so swimmers can be seen from the terrace below. Jellyfish House by Wiel Arets Architects features a staircase that goes straight from the yard to the rooftop for a beach-to-pool experience, and the pool can be seen from nearly all areas of the house.

Secret Under-Floor Pools

Even the ultra-rich have space concerns sometimes, or maybe they just really like cool things that appear and disappear at the touch of a button, like the rest of us. Either way, ‘Hydro Floors’ enable them to basically conjure a swimming pool out of nowhere on command with mobile flooring that can be stopped at various intervals to create pools of different depths. Push the button again to watch the water seep out of the way so the floor space can be used for dining, dancing or whatever else it is that people with too much money do with that kind of space.

Glass-Walled Above-Ground Modern Pool

The lush lawn of this house by Andres Remy Architects in Devoto, Argentina gently rises to meet the edge of a wooden deck surrounding an unusual above-ground pool. The pool features one glass side for a fishbowl-like view from the outside and an infinity effect from the swimmer’s perspective.

Slice House by Procter-Rihl

The Slice House in Porto-Alegre, Brazil by Procter-Rihl Architects features a complex prismatic geometric layout that generates “a series of spatial illusions in the interior spaces,” including a view right into the rooftop swimming pool from the dining room.

Indoor/Outdoor Living Room Pool

A glass hatch in the concrete floor of an urban townhouse can simply be lifted out of the way to provide access to a swimming pool, right under a retractible glass roof, creating a private and protected indoor/outdoor space on demand.

Next Page - Click Below to Read More:
Coolest Pools 15 Enviable Modern Swimming Spots

Shaping both living spaces and modular work studios, a set of shipping containers were combined with a series of green building strategies to make this a place the ultimate home for a versatile creative with professional spatial needs.

Eight used cargo containers provided a starting point for the design by architect Maria José Trejos in Costa Rica (photos by Sergio Pucci, enclosing rooms around the periphery of the plan and leaving a central day-lit void for photography, gatherings and natural cross-ventilation.

The staggered containers create porches, patios and decks on the upper levels while framing social spaces, including a kitchen and dining room, on the main floor.

As the architect describes it, “The house dresses and undresses according to what you want to use it for, be it a living room, an audiovisual space, a photographic or advertising studio.”

A reflective roof and rain harvesting techniques help keep the building cool and create graywater reserves, while the central open volume has raised windows for cross-ventilation purposes. Natural light and cooling help reduce energy consumption and associated costs.