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Architects: Ayutt and Associates Design
- Area: 900 m²
- Year: 2023
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Photographs:Chalermwat Wongchompoo | Sofography
Dew House is a country home that embraces the elements and heightens the senses of nature. Designed as a modern country house situated in the city of Ubon Ratchathani. The layout follows a standard courtyard house with some extra twists. The house is designed to bring the residents closer to natural elements and, in the process, bring the family closer to each other. The design sentiments hark back to the traditional Thai countryside homes, a sense of place they intimately capture by engaging with the senses of look, feel, smell, and sound. The notion of a standard inward-looking courtyard house denies the architecture and its owner of any relationship with the surrounding context. This house seeks to connect itself not only on a social level with neighbors but also on a fundamental level of connecting with the natural elements.
Contrary to city life, where segregation is the norm, in the country, homes are part of a homogeneous neighborhood. The solution was to allow the community to see into certain spaces and sensitively control openings and facade screens according to the needs of various privacy levels, carefully maintained and controlled throughout as a delicate balancing act. The overall massing is broken up into stacking volumes, reducing its visual impact, divided into two main blocks. Living on the roadside. The bedroom block at the back of the site is screened by the living room.
The double-height volume is glazed on the bottom and solid on top, blocking direct views of the bedroom from the road. The façade regulates views into the house, managing different privacy levels throughout the day. As well as acting as a visual screen, the façade, when closed, acts as burglar bars, which protects the house from break-ins. There are two access routes designed to serve these two different functions. When receiving visitors, the house is accessed through a sequential procession. The contrast between the access sequences demonstrates the balance carefully orchestrated to allow the owners full control of private spaces. The guests' access route is largely theatre, revealing glimpses into the family’s lives while staying mainly in the periphery.
The Core court is a double-height volume, covered with a roof punctured with varying-sized oculus, allowing rain and sunshine to fall onto the foliage and ground cover. The court is designed to be contained and protected against the elements but also has controlled openings, always maintaining connection so that as the day goes by, the family is afforded acute connection with the weather outside through this court. The oculus allows the warm morning sun to shine and create gentle shadows on the floor and wall. Simply by opening the windows in the morning, the smell of fresh morning dew on leaves. The permeable façade allows wind to flow into the court and funnel out the oculus, ruffling foliage and creating gentle sways.
One could lie on the floor and experience all the senses throughout the day with peace of mind. The architect utilizes the Core court as an intermediary space connecting all house functions, fostering dialogue between the residents. The study opens directly onto the court with a small platform, projected and slightly raised so feet can be dangled and brushed against leaves without meeting the ground. Conversely, the kitchen has a full view of the court. The owner can cook and appreciate the trees gently swaying and the sun as it enters the court in the morning. Upstairs, on the landing, is a small snug where the family could come together outside their private bedrooms.
The house, is a simple country home, interconnected with nature, neighbourhood, and connects the family together. The architecture does not actively draw attention unto itself, seeking only to be a place that heighten the senses of the client, a place to rest and enjoy life simply, in tuned with nature.
