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the new asian Pools and Gardens:

Bringing Harmony into the Home

Today's tropical garden is constantly pushing the boundaries of contemporary landscape and design while still retaining its essentially Asian heritage and personality. Although inspiration may come from Balinese, Chinese, Japanese or Thai models, the contemporary Asian garden creates its own thoroughly modern idiom by combining traditional elements with bold industrial materials like steel, granite, slate and concrete.

The design of any living space is greatly enhanced by having well thought out landscaping. And whereas the garden was once considered an afterthought to the design of a house, "a place to be viewed rather than to be participated in," according to landscape architect Karl Princic of Bali-based Karl Princic Design, today's modern Asian gardens play a pivotal role in the overall design of the house.

With his Barcelona Pavilion designed for the International Exhibition in Barcelona in 1929, Mies van der Rohe was one of the first architects to incorporate the concept of indoors and outdoors with his open spaces that merged seamlessly with the surrounding landscape.

Perhaps one of the most important developments in recent years is the resurgence of this concept of the garden being another room in the house, which has been explored by a number of architects including John Pawson and Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa, for whom the garden was "a series of rooms seen in succession or as a whole." His architecture was inseparable from the surrounding environment His garden at Lunuganga and his house in Colombo are cases in point.

More and more people are taking the time to think as much about the design of their gardens as they are about the design of their homes. This stems in some part from the explosion of spa resorts in Asia. These havens of tranquility offer luxurious escapes where nature is definitely part of the nurturing process.

Renowned Mexican architect Lu is Barragan referred to himself as a landscape architect In Contemporary Architects he wrote, "I believe that architects should design gardens to be used, as much as the houses they build, to develop a sense of beauty and the taste and inclination toward the fine arts and other spiritual values. Any work of architecture which does not express serenity is a mistake."

Garden design is progressively emulating architecture and art In a way we are urbanizing our gardens and more importantly, as the following pages show, gardens are moving into the house and vice versa. As Karl Princic says, "the essence of garden design is the successful blurring of boundaries between outdoors and indoors. It is now difficult to imagine any project without the influence of landscape."

While homeowners ultimately seek beautiful landscapes, they are also demanding gardens that are easy to maintain, hence the introduction of streamlined gardens.

We are seeing fewer flower beds-restraint in the variety of plants often focuses the attention and enhances a space-and more sculpted gardens that adhere to the Japanese principle of shakkeii, or "borrowed scenery,"-a concept that draws the surrounding landscape into the garden The principles of shakkeii work well regardless of the size of the garden, and are therefore ideally suited to urban living.

One of the most recurring themes is the existence of water. According to Stan and Geri Lee, the owners of Singapore-based landscape design company Watermount Gardens, "water is a key element in the Asian garden. Incorporating a water feature adds life to the garden whether it is in the form of a pond, a simple or elaborate water feature or rock pool."

The garden and pool of this house in Singapore designed by Italian team Sottsass Associati illustrate a striking contemporary style. The bold lines of the house and blue tiles are mirrored in the enormous pool that dominates the landscape. Plants are kept to a minimum with potted greens and a low hedge.

Swimming pools are the ultimate symbol of a leisurely life. Think hot, hot days with a cool, cool drink, the smell of suntan lotion and the gentle sound of splashing water. A swimming pool undoubtedly enhances the quality of life. Unlike in the colder climates of Europe or North America, swimming pools in Asia are used all year round. Apart from the health benefits of swimming, the pool is a great way to keep children amused and the perfect backdrop for entertaining And what better way to unwind than jumping in a pool after a hard day's work?

Once upon a time in the not too distant past, swimming pools were exclusively the domain of the rich, due in part to prohibitive costs. Today however, private swimming pools are increasingly a feature of modern living spaces-and you don't necessarily have to live in a house to have one. With more cost effective construction and better technology, pools are increasingly appearing in apartments as plunge pools or as a design feature of a penthouse apartment.

The pool plays an important part in our lives in tropical Asia-for relaxing, cooling, exercising, entertaining or as a reflective artistic feature of the house. Whether it is a large outdoor pool, indoor lap pool or a rooftop eyrie, unusual shapes and designs that reflect the geometry of the house are much in vogue. Examples include Valentina Audrito's pools in a Bali villa (pages 72 and 78) or the pools by Eco-id Architects in Singapore which form an integral part of a living room (pages 42 and 110) or the pools in a villa in Kanchanaburi in Thailand designed by Martin Palleros (pages 123-124) which merge seamlessly with the landscape. The serenity of the Tirtha wedding chapel in Bali (page 80) is much enhanced by its setting in a vast lake.

What makes a tropical garden intrinsically different from gardens anywhere else in the world is that with our climate we can spend more time in them all year round. As Karl Princic explains, "historically, tropical Asian houses have always been designed to take advantage of natural breezes and therefore the garden has always been an extension of the house." The advent of air-conditioning meant that for a time the garden was excluded from the house. Happily that is all changing. AI fresco dining is increasingly popular with open-plan kitchens and dining rooms becoming part of the garden or patio-a popular idea in Australia and New Zealand, and is now catching on in the rest of the region. With cantilevered roofs and sophisticated water-proof canopies that can be easily adjusted according to the vagaries of the weather, more people are embracing it.

The positioning of the pool in the central courtyard with the draping, white-flowered frangipani tree weaves an intimate and tranquil spell over this Singapore house. The single splash of color is provided by the rich Cordyline fruticosa or ti plant.

Abundant greenery is offset by the clean lines of stone to create a thoroughly modern urban pool area at the Downtown Apartments in Bali.

The design of garden furniture is likewise making great leaps. Rather than the once ubiquitous plastic chairs and tables, retailers like X•TRA Resort and Natural Living in Singapore are stocking aesthetically pleasing dining furniture, loungers, sun parasols and lighting that accentuate and enhance the garden.

Simple arrangements of plants can often make as dramatic a statement as colorful exotics. These tree ferns enhance the sculptured stonework that frames the entrance to the villas at Downtown Apartments in Bali.

Bangkok's first vertical garden, located in Extase restaurant at H1 Complex, is an indoor garden created entirely of vertical plants designed as foliate wall. Natural sunlight enters through the glass roof, which shelters the diners beneath.

Gardens often define a country more readily than does architecture. Pools, fountains, pavilions and pergolas were a natural part of eastern, Roman, Arab, and Greek civilizations. The Taj Mahal with its pools and gardens was considered "paradise on earth." Think of Versailles and the predominant image is one of order, where everything is laid out in straight, parallel lines. Think of an English garden and the image is one of "chaotic order," where the seasons inspire the plants and flowering shrubs. A traditional Chinese garden incorporates the four main elements of water, stone, plants and architectural structures-elements that with their contrasting yin and yang combine to create harmony. Be it a traditional Chinese or Japanese or Balinese garden, the emphasis is on creating a space that is peaceful and tranquil-a place for quiet contemplation. Echoing this theme of tranquility and a balm for the mind as well as the body, many public gardens in Singapore now incorporate "healing" features such as reflexology paths. The landscaping around Eckard Rempe's health resort at San Benito reflects the alternative therapies available at The Farm.

The inspiration for the garden designs of today come from many different quarters, from historical contexts, to modern architecture, from the play of light and shadow to the ripples of water and, of course, plants and trees. The contemporary Asian garden is concerned with bringing harmony into the home yet it is also concerned with imbuing a sense of adventure in the vernacular design.

The rectangular shapes of these shallow pools are softened by low shrubs and tropical ferns, enhancing the tranquil atmosphere of this special space, and infusing it with aquiet buzz of organic energy.

What is also exciting is that there is no one singular style. Instead, architects and designers are experimenting with form and volume, combining traditional motifs with a contemporary idiom. Examples of this is seen in the Balinese bales given a modern make-over, or Chinese statutes set against contemporary structures. Perhaps inspired by the blurring of inside and outside, landscape architects are experimenting with industrial materials such as steel, iron, glass and concrete in the modern Asian gardens. As Geri and Stan say, "Garden design can be taken to a different level by tastefully merging 'funky or quirky' materials with the correct plant types to enhance them."

Gardens in land-scarce Singapore and Bangkok are by necessity smaller, more intimate and enclosed whereas the opposite is true in Bali where rural gardens are more spacious. But a garden, no matter how small, is obviously an asset. Even in a shophouse or on the rooftop or balcony of a condominium, interesting "gardens" can be created by the judicious inclusion of water features and plants. The urban gardens lend themselves to the concept of "secret gardens" with different levels, hideaways, nooks and crannies, path-ways and even miniature labyrinths.

The pool at Villa Surga in Bali designed by Valentina Audrito echoes the architectural footprint of the house.

Think of the tropics and the image of majestic palm trees swaying in the ocean breeze immediately springs to mind. This large garden in Bali provides the ideal setting for these coconut palms. Their height allows for uninterrupted views of the ocean beyond while also gracefully framing the infinity pool. Natural wood decking and a lounger enclosed in muslin drapes add a touch of romance.

This urban garden in Bangkok recreates the romance of Bali with a picturesque fountain made of Balinese wooden rice pounders. The pond is filled with an exotic profusion of water lilies, lotuses, fish and terrapins.