#passive-cooling

#passive-cooling

The building is a combination of blocks with high and low juxtaposition in a straight north-south shape. The first-floor building near the low tea hill in the south is designed as a kitchen and dining room, and the second-floor building with a wide view in the north is designed as a coffee shop. Several huge trees in the west of the site can reduce indoor energy consumption in hot summer, which creates favorable conditions for the design of large-area glass floor-to-ceiling windows.

The white coating, a porous paint-like material, reflects up to 97% of sunlight and radiates heat, making surfaces up to 10 degrees cooler than the surrounding air, even under direct sun. This cooler condition allows water vapor in the air to condense like dew on the smooth coating surface, where it can be collected. In a recent test, a roughly 10-square-foot area treated with the coating was able to harvest 1.6 cups of water over the course of single day.

The eastern setback of the plot is reinterpreted as a pool pavilion defined by terracotta screens and a glass canopy. This zone functions as a transitional layer between the interior and exterior, mediating light, temperature, and privacy. The public areas are arranged between the transparent pool enclosure and the solid private block, creating a sequence of interconnected volumes that balance openness with enclosure. Sectional openings enable layered views across spaces, allowing soft reflected light from the pool to animate the interiors.

Garcia Saxe positioned movable wooden wall systems at the heart of Ocean Eye's design philosophy, creating what we'd now recognize as analog smart home technology. These systems transform static architecture into dynamic, responsive living spaces. The walls aren't simple sliding panels but full-height wooden screens that fold completely away, turning enclosed rooms into open pavilions. When fully retracted, the main living spaces become continuous with the exterior terraces, creating a single flowing space from interior to pool deck.