Dr. Tan Loke Mun,[2] the single residential structure was conceptualized along the lines of a large tree canopy and is equipped with 5 KW peak photo-voltaic installation on the roof; rainwater is also collected on the canopy roof drains and is stored in harvesting tanks.
Water features and multiple pools are located at the two extreme north-south ends to provide evaporative cooling for the house.
The house proves that even in the hot and humid tropical climate of South East Asia, it is possible to lessen a building's reliance on air-conditioning and also minimize its use of other natural resources, most notably water and electricity.
The hope is that the constant experiments done on these private homes eventually will find their way into the larger consumer and mass market housing industry.
This is Tan’s process of taking a theory and testing it on a lab project (usually a house) and then finding a larger mass market application for the idea.