Villa Backyard

The site is an hour’s drive away through the East from Bangkok; Chachoengsao, in which the suburbs living environment is closed to a city, many factories and the sea (Gulf of Thailand), which produces excessive level of soil salinity. A non-terrain land with an artificial pond is where the villa is located. This man-made pond was built to be used as consuming water as well as an atmospheric visualization and all relaxation senses. As mentioned above, saline soil causes brackish water in the pond, which the water was no longer used for consuming not only for household use, but also agricultural use. In order to alter this low biodiversity water into freshwater, rainwater is needed to dilute an existing water in the pond.

An architecture is considered to live along and be part of this water treatment process, therefore, shape and approach are designed to support this development. The designed is originated by a simple cube which is diagonally slashed in half to provide the largest slanted cantilevered surface which act as a roof and wall for draining water, together with all the functions serve what a single-family residence needed within a small, affordable, and useful house, as well as sustainability. An open-plan living space which is arrangeable to multipurpose use, such as family gathering, dining, and extension sleeping area, connects to both private and semi-public area. A water-side edge, in which a bedroom and an outdoor terrace are located, is serratedly subtracted to act as a shading element as well as gaining hierarchical openness; the highest openness at the entrance terrace allows taking sight in standing position, while middle and low for living space and bedroom allows panoramic view in sitting and laying down position, respectively. The other shading elements, a durable aluminum trellis, are apply for the rest wall for heat protection.

Steel structure with asphalt shingle roof is used for quick and easy installation with lightweight and durability for water drainage. Steel grating is applied for a cantilevered outdoor terrace, which allows rainwater falls directly to the pond, as well as, cooling the air above the floor from water evaporation. Aluminum trellis is not only durable, low maintenance and last-longer used material, but also can easily be re-used for another building because of a clip-lock installation.

[CIVIL ENGINEER | Chittinat Wongmaneeprateep
CONTRACTOR | DWN Builder Co.,Ltd.
PHOTOGRAPHER | Anan Naruphantawat]