INTRO:
The beachfront site is located on Chaweng Beach, Koh Samui, Thailand on the south China sea. Chaweng Beach is a very popular and vibrant beach scene featuring numerous resort hotels, restaurants and beach clubs. With a 65-meter-wide beachfront making the project site one of the more unique sites along Chaweng Beach.

MASTER PLAN | FORM | SPACE:
The east facing beachfront site is relatively flat with a gentle slope to the sea. The site is vacant with few significant old growth trees. The overall project site effectively consists of two plots separated by an abandoned road easement on which no permanent structures can be placed. The two plots and separating easement played a significant role in the master plan, along with the local building regulations for maximum building footprints, building heights, open space, and mandatory green area planting.

The two separated plots are distinguished yet have been visually and seamlessly united. The two-plot site creates a higher density “Family Zone” with a main pool and Kid’s Pool at the street side arrival site, and a “Couples or Adult” zone with a second large pool on the beachfront plot.

All building structures are oriented towards the sea to optimize views and organized around two central open spaces, each with a large pool which provides swim up guest room and villa opportunities and are lined each side with decks, terraces, pool loungers and water features. Most structures are oriented parallel to the beach boundary, giving the site a distinguished diagonal geometry, while several of the larger blocks rotate to optimize sea view. The structures appear “sheared” and randomly offset within a string geometric space and a formal grid of trees.

Views to beach upon arrival throughout the meandering journey to beach are ever present and are a series of lushly planted tropical gardens, bio ponds and water features. The interior of the site is buggy free with all guest drop-offs and services at the site perimeter and will ensure a vehicle free resort experience for the guests.

The main lobby consists of a small café, grab and go type venue. The main 3 meal restaurant has been placed mid-site, set back from beach to provide the maximum quantity of beach front villas yet maintains a visual presence from the beach, day and night. A Sunset roof top bar provides a panoramic view of the resort and the sea. The main restaurant level is raised to provide sea views with the Fitness and Kid’s Club located beneath.

The architectural style or appearance of the villas is monolithic, solid, Mediterranean or “Tropical Modern” in character. The bold architecture is contrasting yet seamlessly transitioned to the landscape with terracing, landscape walls, strategically placed open spaces, large tree placements and planting.

GUEST SUITES and VILLAS:
The resort has been planned for the majority of the rooms to have a sea view and all with pool view and garden view. Multiple room categories offer guests a range of accommodation options which include:
40-52m2 King and Twin rooms, 60m2 Suites, a presidential suite and 8 private beach villas with a private pool. All ground floor rooms have either a private pool or are swim up type from the main pool.

The garden villas and beach villas are planned as individual or wide structures with the main living, dining and entertainment areas on the ground level offering wide, expansive views to the beach, main pool or a private walled garden spaces with an infinity edged pool.

The wide structural plan creates a spacious pool terrace accommodating outdoor dining and sun loungers. Large operable sliding doors open the entire ground floor to the pool terrace. The pool features jacuzzi jets and a sunken dining pod.

MATERIAL | FAÇADE DESIGN | SUSTAINABILITY:
For the architectural façade, we propose a cast in-situ board form (or off-form) concrete construction with a rough textured finish and painted with a warm, creamed toned textured paint.

Koh Samui is in a coastal tropical climate classification with minimal seasonal changes other than wet and dry monsoon seasons. During the dry season, the sun can be blistering hot with strong UV exposure. There are occasional cool evenings in the high season. During the wet monsoon season, high winds and heavy rains can be significant. This climate significantly influences façade design engineering and design opportunity.

A greater emphasis on solid walls, deep set windows with less glass, natural ventilation and large overhangs and sunscreens are provided. Large, operable powder coast finish aluminum sliding doors open to the pool terrace and balconies. Operable powder coat aluminum louvered sunscreens provide privacy and shade. Clear laminate glass with a Low-E coating improves the shading coefficient and provides noise reduction and acoustic privacy. The Landscape hardscaping is local sandstone, sand wash pavers and grass pavers. Softscape plantings are all indigenous trees, shrubs and native beach grasses.