A HYMN TO NATURE

Park + Associates designs a holiday house that draws upon the vastness and soothing quality of its natural surrounds in Khao Yai, Thailand

- Hong Xinying

A lone figure looks out across the rolling hills beyond, standing on the terrace of a colossal building that looks like the stuff of dreams. It sounds almost like the subject of a film still or a painting, and yet this beautiful sight does truly exist—it’s a photograph depicting an enviable holiday house in Khao Yai, Thailand.

Situated close to the lush Khao Yai National Park, this wondrous abode is the result of a three-year journey embarked upon by the clients together with a tripartite of Singapore firms: architectural practice Park + Associates, MEC Engineering, and landscape architecture firm Compound Collaborative. Led by Park + Associates founders Lim Koon Park and Christina Thean, this project was realised in conjunction with their Bangkok-based team members Jeeraporn Prongsuriya, Siriphong Saksurasub and Phachara Atiratana.

A few hours’ drive from Bangkok, Khao Yai is a scenic weekend getaway frequented by locals who also consider it a dream destination for a holiday residence. Thean recalls the early days of this project, when the clients invited her team to visit the site in Thailand; the homeowners wanted to see if they could be creatively aligned on what they had envisioned for their ultimate vacation home, which is to be shared with their extended family.

“It was immediately clear that the site is unique, with its direct views of the Khao Yai National Park, and being located in a quaint town amid highly thematic architecture,” she shares.

MOUNTAIN SONG

With an impressive land area of 637,214 sq ft (5.7 ha), there is so much the design team could do with the generous footprint. It was readily apparent to both the architects and the owners that nature should be the defining feature and focus of this project.