Page 74 - Designing Ways 281

Monow House

Bangkok, Thailand

he owner of this house purchased a piece of land next to
his parents’ house to start his own family. Once completed,
Twith the existing boundary wall between the two properties
removed, the new house will be related to the parents’ house on
various aspects, including a visual linkage between the dad’s TV
Room and the son’s Living Room through the communal landscaped
courtyard, a Fitness Room that mum will come over to use on a daily
basis, a provision of extra parking lots for both houses, and a covered
walkway connecting the kitchens of both houses together for service
sharing.

Contextually, the plot is long and narrow, surrounded by neighbours
with close proximity, so the planning of massing and openings is
very crucial to ensure sufficient privacy. The design team conducted
a thorough review of the location and distance of the neighbours'
windows to avoid direct confrontation. With a site constraint in term
of its width, the design solution will go up to three stories to achieve
a decent amount of natural light and ventilation to all rooms. The
massing descends towards the front so as not to block the natural
light and ventilation to the parents’ house.

One of the requirements from the owner was that the appearance of
both houses must be related. To avoid having to do similar massing
or design language, the design team proposed to link them through
the use of materials instead. The external cladding on the 3rd floor is
from the same manufacturer as the one used on exterior wall of the
parents’ house, but a newer, more modern version. The exterior walls
of the 3rd floor, being most exposed to the elements, are clad with
hollow-core triangular shaped ceramic tiles which act as a thermal
barrier. The heat gain is reduced thermodynamically by a natural
breeze flowing through the void of each tile. The folding texture of
the cladding also helps to reduce the direct hit of sunlight, as 50% of
Corner detail

Being inside feels like being outside with the generous amount of openings.

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