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Architects: One and a Half Architects
- Area: 530 m²
- Year: 2022
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Photographs:DOF Sky|Ground
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Lead Architects: Wichan Kongnok
“Home utilizing common areas to connect residents’ happiness”. Concept and Design Guideline - The house with “Living” as the main part. The original land has a large Padauk tree at the corner. Living members include 1 family and 1 French Bulldog as the main character. The inspiration started from the movie title “Happ(y)ness”. Happyness is spelled as Y, not I. Happyness is not only I, but also You. We want the house to be everyone’s space and be the happiness area, where friends and family stay together. The concept was used to design house zoning and functions.
Layout and Context - The owner originally needed the courtyard in the middle of the house. After the architect’s zoning analysis, the utilization of the Padauk tree with the courtyard in the middle would be difficult. The land will also not be effectively utilized. In contrast, it is better if we put ourselves in the middle and move the courtyard and trees around us. Small courtyards are also distributed throughout the house for more green areas and a better atmosphere. The building is aligned on the East-West side, which fitted with the land layout. The building is designed for minimum sunlight. The swimming pool is in the north, parallel to the house. The pool helps cool down the house and is a great view of the master living room.
Exterior Design - The building was designed as a plain-white box, floating without a central pillar for a cleaner eye-level view. Front and back courtyards are connected. The clean wall will be opaque when viewed from outside for privacy. The building was designed for a simple and minimal component, showing proportion aesthetics instead of showing other components. The building’s main wall was designed at some distance from the room glass, producing air-circulated insulation and reducing the temperature in this high hall. Light gaps between the house and walls will produce reflected light from the wall (indirect light). The light will be bright, but not enough to transfer heat to the building. The most simple and neutral tones were selected for the building. White, gray, and wood color, which are warm, simple, and beautiful in the long term, were utilized.
Interior Design - The living room is a center of connection for all functions. The building is double-spaced in parallel with the outside swimming pool. All important functions: living, swimming, cooking, working, and resting, were utilized from the same space. For socializing families, the area to welcome guests is essential but not too large to separate into other rooms. Thus, matching the idea of “one area for all happiness”.
“Color and interior function divisions”. All areas are mainly warm white, light gray, and wood color. For the pantry area, it was designed to look smarter with black materials in contrast with other areas. The color was different to separate as small party zone for gentlemen’s cocktails, parties, or just mood changes. “Privacy, separated by levels” concept was used in designing working rooms and libraries. Working areas are on the living room’s mezzanine floor so that the working room will not feel too tight. There is also a corner that is unseparated from the other areas so you could still see children’s and dog’s activities.
Green Areas Design - All main areas are designed to be able to see trees with their own courtyard. This feature is a by-product of the building layout. Overall green areas are set in the simplest fashion as there is already an original main tree. Big trees were added to the courtyards as necessary and create a green scene from the tree walls for more relaxed and easier care. Guest restrooms were intentionally designed to have a small courtyard for more ventilation. Light gaps are available on the top for planting trees and are used to grow plants on the mezzanine floor’s roof. The design produced a better atmosphere for the restrooms and covered the views from outside.
Work Details - The material’s horizontal lines were used for a simple design but full of details. In many areas, the same materials were used but lines were added for different dimension details. Larger materials were made smaller by adding horizontal lines, providing illusions, and making the house look longer. Those designs were implemented to the building’s walls and areas, both interior and exterior.
