KHUN AMMIE'S HOUSE

This house is the fourth-generation house which was constructed on the 100-year family own property 24 years ago. The great grand father bought this land with a plan for the whole family to live together. The existing house is timber and steel structure, there is a high ceiling warehouse at the back of the land. The client desire to convert them into a compact yet functional home office.

Concept:

When we went to the site, the first thing that came into our mind was how isolated the warehouse was. It was only be used to store stuff which the family see no necessity for everyday life. We plan for utilizing this structure in a more beneficial way for the overall functionality enhancement and create more movement and energy.
The main focus of this renovation is interior space and functionality, we decide to invest less in changing the external appearance. It should be coherent, feel like one building and does not give the feeling of segregation. We design a new facade to wrap them together as a single building and add an outdoor space with a tree which has vertical form to fit into the space.

The terrace connects these two buildings together and acts as an internal courtyard, this space is the feature and focal point of the house. We rearrange the rooms and circulations inside the house and replace some walls with glass where possible and suitable. This would allow natural light and ventilation to come in and also create visual connection to the terrace and the warehouse.

The existing is also lack of some functions or rooms which the family needs. We see the potential of adding one more floor inside the warehouse envelope since the ceiling was quite high. The structure of the warehouse is robust enough to support another floor of required spaces so we proposed to add a mezzanine level for the master bedroom and treat the lower level as service areas i.e. kitchen, maids and other services.

We connect these two floors with the new staircase. It is placed adjacently to the internal courtyard with full height glass wall for natural light to adds more energy to the house. In details, the wood treads create a more homey feeling and open risers make them feel more light and comfortable. We also mange to add some more built-in storage space on the side. It is designed in random pattern to be a feature wall and a back drop of the stair.
 

Writer : Sowat W.