Architecture

YAK01 house stays cool with a well-placed pool

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The YAK01 house makes use of a pool for passive cooling (Photo: Piyawut Srisakul)
The YAK01 house (Photo: Piyawut Srisakul)
Almost half the house is cantilevered over the ground floor (Photo: Piyawut Srisakul)
Room for parking too (Photo: Piyawut Srisakul)
In a bid to further remove the sting from Bangkok's hot climate, YAK01's bathrooms, service areas, and staircases act as heat-absorbing "buffer zones" (Photo: Piyawut Srisakul)
Cross-ventilation is provided by opposing windows in each room, and natural daylight is utilized where possible (Photo: Piyawut Srisakul)
The design frees garden space, creates a cool shaded area, and provides 500 sq m of usable internal space (Photo: Piyawut Srisakul)
The YAK01 house makes use of a pool for passive cooling (Photo: Piyawut Srisakul)
The exterior of the property follows an L shape (Photo: Piyawut Srisakul)
Cross-ventilation is provided by opposing windows in each room, and natural daylight is utilized where possible (Photo: Piyawut Srisakul)
YAK01 makes the most of natural daylight (Photo: Piyawut Srisakul)
The available building space is limited, and the owners wished to realize the maximum possible potential of the plot (Photo: Piyawut Srisakul)
The YAK01 house (Photo: Piyawut Srisakul)
The master bedroom is cantilevered over the entire length of the front foyer (Photo: Piyawut Srisakul)
The YAK01 house (Photo: Piyawut Srisakul)
YAK01's bathrooms, service areas, and staircases act as heat-absorbing "buffer zones" (Photo: Piyawut Srisakul)
Architectural drawing (Image: AAd)
Architectural drawing (Image: AAd)
Architectural drawing (Image: AAd)
Architectural drawing (Image: AAd)
Architectural drawing (Image: AAd)
Architectural drawing (Image: AAd)
View gallery - 21 images

If you're lucky enough to own a swimming pool, you already know they offer a great opportunity to relax, exercise, and perhaps throw the occasional pool party, too. However, the recently-completed Bangkok-based YAK01 house by architecture firm AAd goes further than this, by making use of a pool for passive cooling.

Though the plot upon which YAK01 sits isn't overly small at 560 sq m (6,000 sq ft), actual usable building space was limited, so the owners required some clever design to make the most of what was available. AAd delivered a structure which sees almost half the house cantilevered over the ground floor. This frees garden space, creates a cool shaded area, and provides 500 sq m (5,380 sq ft) of usable internal space.

Cross-ventilation is provided by opposing windows in each room, and natural daylight is utilized where possible (Photo: Piyawut Srisakul)

The exterior of the property follows an "L" shape, and the pool is positioned in parallel. This is said to draw cool air into the house and go some way to lowering the blistering heat which Bangkok can experience.

To further take the sting out of the climate, YAK01's bathrooms, service areas, and staircases act as "buffer zones," absorbing the heat and keeping the inner rooms cool. Cross-ventilation is also provided where possible by opposing windows, and natural daylight floods in via glass walls, which are mostly positioned north to reduce the sun's intensity.

YAK01 has a modern feel overall, but the ground floor is laid-out like a traditional Thai home, with a courtyard serving as foyer.

YAK01 was completed earlier this year.

Source: AAd via Arch Daily

View gallery - 21 images
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1 comment
Rann Xeroxx
Why even worry about a little savings in energy cost when you are building a massive square footage of housing for a individual/family? Just the manufacturing of the materials and transportation to the site alone is a huge energy expense. This house shows a lot of concrete and making concrete produces a LOT of green house gases. Maybe if this was shown as office space, it would make more sense. I personally don't even buy into the whole AGW thing but if your making a point in saving energy, at least make a point in being environmental overall and use simply what you need.
Now take this same concept and show it used in a less then 2000 sqf home, that would be more interesting.