Sustainable Luxury (9780804844758)

This sustainable architecture and design book featuring elegant photographs and showcases the ultra-modern homes of Singapore.

Singapore is celebrated as one of the most livable cities in Asia, and Sustainable Luxury shows how the prosperous, forward-looking nation is pioneering innovative solutions for environmental, economic, social, and cultural issues faced the world over. Dr. Paul McGillick, the author of The Sustainable Asian House (Tuttle, 2013), presents twenty-seven recent residential projects created by Singapore's most talented architects to address the many complex and interconnected aspects of sustainability.

Some of the homes featured here emphasize environmental needs, while others are concerned with preserving cultural traditions or supporting societal and interpersonal needs—such as extended family dwellings. Each residence, however, exhibits solutions developed from a holistic point of view. These homes typically embrace the tropical climate rather than fight it, and illustrate how smart manipulation of air flows, light, shade, water, and landscaping sustain higher levels of comfort without resorting to air-conditioning.

In addition to profiling individual residences, Sustainable Luxury looks at the big picture, canvassing the most pressing issues—including changing demographics and lifestyles—and examining the available solutions. Anyone concerned with the future of our world will be fascinated by the houses presented here and the ways in which Singapore is leading the way in the development of residential architecture that is as luxurious as it is sustainable.


About the Author:
Dr. Paul McGillick is a Sydney-based writer on architecture, art and design. He is also Editorial Director of Indesign Media and Editor of the regional, cross-cultural architecture and design magazine, Habitus. He has written a number of books on South-East Asian architecture as well as several monographs on Australian and Asian architects. His most recent book was The Sustainable Asian House published in 2013 by Tuttle.

Award-winning photographer Masano Kawana is one of the most talked-about food, interior and landscape photographers in Asia today. Born in Japan and based in Singapore, Kawana has traveled, lived and surfed throughout the region, photographing a wide variety of subjects for books and lifestyle magazines. One of his recent works, Shunju: New Japanese Cuisine has won the 2004 James Beard Foundation Award for Best Photography.