Resort Home

Informed by traditional vernacular house design, the house is planned around a central courtyard as a series of elevated independent spatial forms. This fragmentation challenges the conventional house design where most spaces are within a singular mass with limited cross ventilation, natural lighting and in between spaces.

Users of the spaces can enjoy maximum view into the central courtyard of water features and gardens with large deeply- shaded glass windows. The living space is angled and has additional windows directed viewing into the nearby woods. Each spatial form is different in size and height responding to the actual space usage and hierarchy.

In addition to the in between gaps between forms, main spaces like living area and bedrooms are elevated from ground to allow for cross ventilation on ground level through the entire house. This act as natural strategy to cool down the house in the hot and humid tropics. The freed-up ground allows people to enjoy semi formal social space in a shaded environment, surrounded with green.

The spatial forms size and configuration follows a set of geometrical guides to create a desired proportion and purity.

Residents reached home arriving at the driveway and follow a journey through the central courtyard garden before ascending the main staircase. A main linkway spine on first floor then link people back to other living and bedroom spaces.

The design explores curved edges to the spatial form to inject a certain character to the exterior impression and refreshing contrasting to the regimental rectilinear forms of surrounding houses. Columns are shaped to become the curvilinear edges between 2 wall planes, eliminating any need for internal columns inside the space.

To achieve an overall consistency and singularity in finishing material, all internal and external wall surfaces are plastered and cement skim to smooth, achieving an overall contrasting pallet of neutral cement skim surface with glass glazing and sleek structural steel outlook.

Irregular form and imperfection of the cement skim surface express intuitive personal touch, self-build, and organic formation, aligned with the idea of wabi-sabi. Gratitude to both the builder and the client who are open to a more explorative approach to achieve good architecture.

The wabi-sabi concept further extended through the other interior elements like the cabinetries where natural plywood expressing its wood grain. The main staircase is shown in its original form expressing the self-supporting steps and the side walls. Abundance of natural light penetrating through skylights and large window accentuate the overall neutrality of color mixture and the ‘less is more’ feel of the interior. Some of the construction gravels and precast culvert pipes are also elegantly reused as garden pavement and outdoor benches.