The Secret Chapters

Winner of Hospitality Category | Thailand | BCI Asia Interior Design Awards 2018

Designed for guests to experience both freedom and privacy, the subjective notion of conceptualising a secret place was a challenge for the design team—how does one create and define a space based on such an elusive, fluid idea? Aside from this, the second challenge was for the designers to retain the existing landscape, based on the client’s wishes, with almost 100 trees scattered around the site that must be preserved. Prior to the conceptual design, the team tested several schemes of the hotel’s master plan in order to tailor the architecture to fit the existing landscape while responding to the project’s feasibility.

The designers expressed the ‘secretive nature’ of the building by ‘moulding’ the spatial scheme around the trees, which produced architectural clusters that blend with the surroundings and also created spaces that are open as well as hidden. These spaces unfold or open up only to those who have access, allowing for a sense of freedom in the privacy of a well-concealed spot, as laid out in the design brief.

The colour palette and finishes, as well as the use of white walls, wooden decks and plenty of glass, convey a modern Asian sensibility.

PROJECT DATA
Project Name: The Secret Chapters
Location: Samui Island, Surat Thani, Thailand
Completion Date: March 2018
Client/Owner: Kamoltham Co, Ltd
Gross Floor Area: 5,000 square metres
Interior Design Firms: Tirawan Songsawat; G4 architects Co, Ltd
Number of Villas: 20
Mechanical & Electrical Engineer: ADEE Environment & Engineering Co, Ltd
Quantity Surveyor: Prachanart Nawamintr Co, Ltd (PCM)
Interior Fit-Out Contractor: Pattara Studio
Images: Kamoltham Co, Ltd; G4 architects Co, Ltd; FAT FILM Studio