Modern Thailand Villa

_project name: Modern Thailand Villa

_location: Pathum Thani, Thailand

_brief: To design a modern Thai villa that incorporates the feeling of traditional Thai sala architecture while also responding to modern life. Construction is expected to be completed in 2011.

_considerations: We considered the lake and how we could best create spaces to interact with it and experience it from different points of view. This led us to the cantilevered sala on the second floor, hanging over the pool allowing from views above the lake, a stark contrast to the lower level where the lake experience is more about being at lakes edge.

_response: The site location on a beautiful lake fed by the Chao Phraya River, the main river running through Bangkok, allowed us to treat the villa as a 2 sided project, closed from the back or entrance side as mandated by Feng Shui and completely open to the lake. The openness idea is reinforced by a structural plan cantilevered in the back that allows the villa to open completely to the elements without the view being obstructed by columns. The top floor of the villa has been designed to feel as individual salas floating on a pond creating a sense of being one with the lake.