Previous pages: The upper level of the villa
contains the more formal rooms, with this
reception library on one side and an office on
the other. The peaked roof form of the pavilion
design provides for a cathedral ceiling inside. The
aesthetic is traditional, with teak used on the
ceiling, floor and for the extensive book shelves.
Fretwork above the shelves is to a traditional Thai
pattern, but also has a distinctly modern function –
screening the air conditioning services.
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made it technically very challenging to get
down and place a substantial villa on it.”
But that was just the start of the issues
to be dealt with.
Local code meant the building had
to be positioned at least 30m back from
the water, with limits also placed on the
height of any building.
The owner also wanted to retain as
much of the existing vegetation as pos-
sible, including a large tree growing in a
prominent position.
Coyne says that in terms of positioning
the house on the site there was a natural
point at which the accessway came to an
end, at an enormous rock that would have
been impossible to get beyond.
“So this established an arrival level
with an entry point into the back of the
house,” he says. “In a way, the site then
drove the design, in that everything needed
to be single loaded and front facing.
“That made it very easy for us on the
one hand, but then the challenge was how
to organise the house working with the
contours of the site and the gradient.”