Wind Vault House

Wind Vault House
© Jeremy San
Wind Vault House
© Jeremy San

WIND VAULT HOUSE

Wallflower Architecture + Design

ARCHITECTS
Wallflower Architecture + Design

LOCATION
Singapore

PHOTOGRAPHS
Jeremy San

AREA
553.0 m²

CATEGORY
Houses

YEAR
2012

Text description provided by architect.

As the brief was substantial, the overall form of the house needed to be pushed to the envelope limits.

Wind Vault House
© Jeremy San
Wind Vault House
© Jeremy San
Wind Vault House
© Jeremy San

Naturally, there are also other considerations; the context and proximity of neighbouring homes, the daily sun path and the prevailing winds.

Conceptually, the house is a raised reinforced concrete tube whose open ends are oriented in a general north-south direction.

On this site, the prevailing breezes also blow in from the south, from the direction of the nearby coast line. In practice, all rooms have walls that side either east or west, and front north and south.

The tubular structure resists east west heat gain thanks to the solid mass of the reinforced concrete but encourages passive cooling through the open north south axis. The north and south facades are treated with timber screens and their contribution is multifold. 

Wind Vault House
© Jeremy San
Wind Vault House
© Jeremy San

They are privacy filters for the bedrooms and are the first layer of glare and solar heat reduction to the spaces behind. The timber fins of the screen can also be angled so as to catch a breeze or to increase privacy as and when needed.

Family gatherings are a daily occurrence, and large celebratory functions also feature regularly for the client.

Wind Vault House
© Jeremy San
Wind Vault House
© Jeremy San

The first storey is designed to be visually expansive and uncluttered, and encourages the intermingling of space, whether one moves through the garden, living or dining. The perceived spatial boundary is not architecturally delineated in a traditional sense, but by a soldier-line of narrow polyalthia trees along the boundaries of the site.

However, architecturally, the trees provide a level of purpose no man-made wall is able to. It shields the house from neighbouring windows but its narrow footprint still allows sun to reach the grass, while freeing up space on the lawn for play and parties.

Wind Vault House
© Jeremy San
Wind Vault House
© Jeremy San
Wind Vault House
© Jeremy San
Wind Vault House
© Jeremy San

What may not seem so obvious though is that the tines of polyalthias are literally evaporative fingers, combing the air of some of its heat each time the wind blows. The swimming pool is placed centrally between garden and living both as a focal centre and also as a central evaporative cooling surface.


Wind Vault House
© Jeremy San
Wind Vault House
© Jeremy San
Wind Vault House
© Jeremy San
Wind Vault House
© Jeremy San
Wind Vault House
Wind Vault House
© Jeremy San
Wind Vault House
© Jeremy San
Wind Vault House
© Jeremy San


Wind Vault House
Wind Vault House
© Jeremy San
Wind Vault House
© Jeremy San
Wind Vault House
© Jeremy San
Wind Vault House
© Jeremy San
Wind Vault House
© Jeremy San
Wind Vault House
© Jeremy San


Wind Vault House
© Jeremy San
Wind Vault House
Wind Vault House
© Jeremy San
Wind Vault House
© Jeremy San
Wind Vault House
© Jeremy San


Wind Vault House
Plan
Wind Vault House
Plan
Wind Vault House
Plan