Practical Considerations for House Design in Thailand

The best architecture is grounded in practicality. It is no use a building looking beautiful if it quickly disintegrates, becomes uninhabitable, infested or otherwise damaged. The challenge of Thai architecture is a lot to do with dealing with the extreme climatic conditions and the problems this throws up for building construction and maintenance.

Rain

Much of Thailand is in a tropical area that is hot and humid and subject to lots of rain. Moreover, the country experiences a yearly monsoon or wet season when water levels rise quickly. This has had a big impact on Thai architecture. Traditionally, many Thai homes are built on stilts, firstly made of wood and latterly made of concrete. Raising the floor level off the ground protects the house from flooding.

The steep roof is a common sight in Thai architecture. The multi-layered steep roof is one of the defining aspects of traditional Thai architecture, especially on temples or wats. The reason for the steep roof is that the rain runs off quicker and so has less chance of seeping through the tiling and damaging the inside of a building. Rain seepage can eventually lead to ceilings collapsing. Nowadays, gutters are a ‘must’ for a lot of building design because water runoff will leave a stain down the side of a house.

White

The most common color for houses is white. This is connected to the last point: water run-off stains walls; as does car fumes, mold and animals. If you paint a house in a non-white color the patch that has been most recently re-painted will look a different color to the rest of the house. With white this is not the case. When white paint dries it looks the same as the rest of the white paint.

Wood

One of the great natural resources that Thailand has is wood. There are plenty of hardwoods (including teak and other expensive hardwoods) that can be used for building construction and interior design. Wood looks much better than concrete or tiles. The only problem with wood is that it is food for a number of insects that are indigenous to Thailand. If your new home or holiday villa in Thailand is near a jungle then you have to apply several layers of varnish and sealant to protect the wood from insects. If the wood gets infested you need to spray can after can of insecticide into the wood to kill the wood-eating insects. Wood needs constant maintenance.

Windows

Often a Thai holiday villa is near a beach or is perched on a hill to gain a sea view. To make the most of the beautiful natural scenery it is tempting to install lots of windows or floor to ceiling windows. It makes an attractive selling point to the house. However, there are two major drawbacks. Firstly, solar gain means that the sun coming through the windows can make a room very hot. This drives up air-con bills. Secondly, the more windows means the more cleaning. And if the window frames are made of wood (as they normally are) then more maintenance is required to stop the wood cracking, warping or being eaten by insects.

Turf

A friend recently completed building a holiday villa in Thong Nai Pan. He bought turf for the garden. The grass didn’t seem to grow but lots of pretty butterflies could be seen flitting over the dying grass. It took him a couple of days to discover that the grass had been grown in seaweed, and that butterflies had laid their eggs in the sea weed. He eventually solved the problem, but it was a proverbial pain  for him at the time.

Having a lawn is high maintenance in Thailand. Local grasses grow quicker, as does tropical vegetation. Without constant weeding a lawn can soon be overrun with local plants. Traditional Thai gardens often do not use large expanses of grass or turf.

These are just a few important ways in which the Thai climate, weather and flora and fauna affect Thai architecture, and how you should design as house in Thailand with these factors in mind.

Architecture and Interior Design in Koh Samui

Koh Samui is the second biggest island in Thailand. Since the island was discovered by backpackers in the early 1970s the island has transformed itself from a coconut growing backwater to one of the most popular tourist destinations in Asia.

There has been a lot of money put into the development of Koh Samui. Besides the money spent on an airport, good roads and a few big hospitals there has also been a serious investment in architectural design and practice as well as care paid to interior design in Koh Samui.

Many places opt for a contemporary Thai architecture while others go for an ultra modern look. There is a small ground swell in Koh Samui for sustainable design. Some designs are just plain bizarre while other buildings just look plain ugly.

The island is continually changing the way it looks and the way visitors interact with their surroundings.

In the few years leading up to the global financial disaster of 2008 there was a private housing boom in Koh Samui. Developers, while usually looking for cheap design that ticked all the boxes of pool, air-con, privacy and view, did sometimes build a few villas with noteworthy characteristics.

Below are a few photos of architecture and interior design in Koh Samui along with notes.

Buri Rasa Village has pool villas. This is an example of tick the box luxury. Wooden slating, tiny pool and simple concrete slab with 4 ceramic tiles to give just a hint of design.

 Another example of luxury and poor design. KC Over Water Villas has the original idea to built villas over swimming pools and then ruins the effect with standard housing that is packed tightly together.

 A better use of a swimming pool at Outrigger. The semi circular pool increases access and style.

Sala Samui uses natural materials, clever ground lighting and vistas to create striking interior design.

 This comes in plain awful category. Some type of pastiche of Louis XVI grandeur.

Unfinished private villa next to the beach such a remarkable amount of architectural ambition: round and vaguely reminiscent of a lighthouse.

Excellent use of contemporary Thai architecture by the Sala Samui.

 Ultra modern by Solo Bar in Chaweng. Featuring huge tinted windows and a curve theme.

Using there curved lines of a pool and a natural corridor of coconut palms to enhance the natural beauty of the sea horizon view at the Buddy Oriental.

An example of the bizarre: a series of boat shaped villas around a boat shaped pool. The villas look like the result from a tsunami. This is the Imperial Boat Villas.

Melati Resort uses understatement and the natural beauty of the beach. Nice use of bamboo.

Traditional Chinese shop house in Fisherman's Village in Bophut to create a boutique shop. Red is a strong Chinese colour that is found in lots of the interior designs on Koh Samui. Shame about the corrugated iron roof.

Bathrooms in Thailand

The best and the worst of bathrooms in Thailand

Bathrooms in Thailand are vastly varying quality. In cheap hotels, guest houses and bungalows bathrooms are functional and clean at best and awkward, dirty and falling apart at worse. 

Hot water vs. cold water

Although many holiday makers want a bathroom with hot water it is not always necessary in a country where the temperature is in the 30s. It is often the case that a cold shower is preferable as a way to cool down and rinse the sweat off the body.

One popular way in Thailand to make shower water warm is to put the water storage tank on the roof. The heat of the sun warms the water and makes it a nice temperature for showering. Another option is to run the water through tubes on the roof that allow the water to warm for free.

Styles of bathroom in Thailand

Part of the glamor of tropical living is being able to luxuriate in a 5 star bathroom. Having space and surfaces to put cosmetics etc. is a great help. Marble or granite surfaces are popular. 

The color scheme of a bathroom can make it stand out. White seems sterile and out of date. Black has a stylish minimal feel and small colored tiles bring a playful feel to the room. Bold statements and center pieces can be made with tile mosaics either on the wall or the floor.

The most luxurious item for a bathroom is often a Jacuzzi. A big bath is also attractive. Both, however, use a lot of water. Many hotels now have outdoor rain showers to allow people to wash for the chlorine and salt from swimming in a pool or the sea. Deluxe places often feature a Jacuzzi on a balcony with a sea view.

Water conservation

One issue for a residential villa is water conservation. Water is not free and sometimes droughts occur in Thailand during the long hot summers. The solution is to install a low flow shower head and low flow faucet aerators in the villa. They mix air with water to halve water flow without reducing water pressure or showering pleasure. Another possibility is to employ a grey water recycling system to use unwanted shower water in the garden.

Below are just a few pictures of bathrooms in Thailand.

Bamboo Fencing

Bamboo grows in Thailand and is a great renewable resource. Bamboo takes only 5 or 6 years to reach maturity. It needs less water than trees to grow and thrives without the need for pesticides and fertilizers. Moreover, bamboo produces more oxygen than trees. It is thus a material that is ideal for a Thai villa that seeks to be environmentally friendly.

Bamboo is hard and durable. It is also naturally water resistant and fungal resistant. This is very important for Thailand where the heavy rains and high humidity can quickly destroy hardwoods that have not been properly treated.

It is often the case that the effect of a Thai home can be undermined by fencing in the grounds that is made of brick or plastic. If the home features hardwood and natural materials such as rattan and water hyacinth it is a good idea to keep the theme of natural materials in the garden too.

The obvious solution is bamboo fencing. It is strong and durable. Bamboo can be cut into half or quarter strips and stacked to make heavy duty fencing. Bamboo can also be cut into thin strips and woven together to make the filling part of the fence. Another possibility is to tie pieces of bamboo together.

Pieces of bamboo can also be laid vertically to make a door or high fence.

Such outdoor buildings and concrete sections as sheds, power transformers and pool equipment can be hidden and beautified with bamboo fencing. It is a low cost and possible DIY option that makes a lot of sense for a Thai home.

So once you have built your Thai villa and start to knock the garden into shape you should pause to consider how bamboo fencing can help you. Bamboo is a cheap, environmentally friendly and abundant resource perfect for Thailand.

Look at the photos below to give you some ideas about the possible style of bamboo fencing.