A Singapore Home Forgoes Air Conditioning (and Windows) to Take Living With Nature to an Extreme

To reach the entry of Minh Le Tien and Emylia Safian’s Singapore home, you must wend your way through their front garden. A narrow path almost concealed by shrubs and small trees, with butterflies flitting into view and small, white flowers dotting curtains of greenery, sets the tone for the untamed spaces inside.

The couple—Minh works in finance and Emylia is an art therapist and educator—had lived in a single-story house on the same plot for nearly a decade. "It was quite hot and stuffy, so we turned on the air-conditioning all the time," says Emylia. "One day, the air-conditioning system broke down, so we started opening windows and using a standing fan." The nights were bearable, but stifling days revealed the home’s lack of air circulation. As the structure aged and started to leak, they reached out to architect Ling Hao, whose practice is known for buildings that harmonize with the region’s tropical climate and diverse flora.

In their design brief, the couple asked for "a house that breathes naturally," with spaces that are naturally ventilated and varied: cold and warm, light and dark, raw and crafted, private and public, playful and serious, strong and delicate.