Two bedroom single storey home

I have just finished the design of a low cost two bedroom single storey home for a client near Fao Rai, Phon Phisai.

The home is entered via some steps leading up to a covered porch and  features a relatively large open plan living / dining room and kitchen area.  This leads on to a large covered deck at the rear.  There is also another covered area for an outside laundry just off from the kitchen area.

The master bedroom has a very large walk-in closet and an en-suite bathroom.  Unusually, at the clients request, the en-suite bathroom then leads on to a walled open-air shower room. There is then a guest bedroom with built in closet and a second bathroom.

We shall be starting construction of this home within the next week, with a scheduled completion date of around the end of May this year.  Check back here for updates on the progress of this build.

Another project complete...

We completed our second project in Thip Thani in december of last year and handed the keys over to a happy customer, just in time to move in for Christmas.

A client can have as much or as little involvement as they wish with the design of their home.  Some like to leave all of the decisions to the designer, whilst some have a very clear idea in their mind of the look they are trying to achieve.  With this property, it was a mixture of the two cases in that I was responsible for the exterior design, and the client made all of the interior styling choices around a layout that I had provided.   The project was carried out on a fixed price bases, with a set budget for things such as tiles, paint, granite  counter tops etc...  Our client then chose the interior finishes receiving a rebate if under budget and paying an excess if over the allowed budget.  This suited him as it meant he was able to chose exactly what he wanted and also allowed him to find his own savings on certain things and then use that to upgrade on other features.

We had originally bought the land for development and the contract we had with the client was for the land and for the design and construction of the home.  Garden landscaping was not something that was covered in this case as it was something that the client wanted to undertake, allowing himself time to live in the property and develop the garden over time to suit him.

Modern electronics showroom frontage design

We were recently asked to design the frontage for a new build electronic goods showroom which is soon to open in Vientiane, Laos.  The main structure of the building had already been erected and work was ongoing.  Whilst some exterior detailing in place, it was not to the owners taste. My brief was to provide a bold, modern and colourful frontage design to add to the existing structure.

Here is the structure of the building that I had to design around.

The design that I provided was largely inspired by the work of the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian, which seemed to fit perfectly with the clean lines, modern and colourful design that I had been asked to provide.  The large area of white space at the top of the building and above the ground floor is intended for signage.

Modern office renovation progress

With our proposal for the modern office renovation having been accepted, we are now well on the way to completion, but here is an update on the progress so far.

The first task was to strip away the facia boards to reveal the existing structure.

The redesign involved substantial changes to the structure of the building, so we had to strip back the frontage to its core column and beam structure.

We also had to add footings for the new columns that were to be incorporated in the new design.

The new design then began to take shape, building on the new foundations and tying into the original structure.

It was necessary to add safety covers to the high voltage power lines that ran parallel to the top floor of the building.

Bali Style Home

Although this project began back in June 2010, I realised that it is not one that I have ever mentioned before on the blog.  The client, a friend and fellow designer, had an idea for a home that consisted of a complex of  small buildings set amongst the trees in a mature tamarind orchard.  There was to be a master bedroom suite building, a living room / lounge building and a larger building housing the kitchen, dining room, laundry and guest bedroom.  These buildings were all to be set around an ornamental lotus pond.  There were also to be two further buildings to act as self contained guest accommodation complete with kitchen, living room and bedroom suite.  The property was also to have a swimming pool.  Although I have headed this blog post "Bali Style Home", it is really a fusion of Bali style with a number of other different asian styles of architecture and design.

Our friend came to us with a clear picture of exactly what he was going to build and asked if we could develop the concept into a full set of architectural and engineering drawings and submit them to the Nong Khai planning department for approval. We produced the drawings and after jumping a few hurdles with the local planning department, permission to build was granted and construction is now well underway and, in fact, nearing completion.  Our friend is managing the build himself and I am excited to see the finished property because it is sure to be stunning and something quite unique for Nong Khai.  Certainly, from my last visit, the site is really beginning to take shape and his eye for detail is clearly evident in the concept and in the build so far.

With his permission, I shall try to add some photos of the finished home once complete.  In the mean time, here are a few of the engineering drawings that we produced for the project.

Isara Bottle Boat

You may have seen a post on this blog in July about this wonderful project being undertaken by the folks at Isara, a registered charity that does great work in Nong Khai and further afield.  For the full story, see my original post here: /category/isara-bottle-boat/

After a lot of planning, promotion and hard work on the part of Isara's founder, Kirk Gillock, the first stage of the project, to build the boat, is almost complete.

The two hulls of the catamaran are made from timber which was kindly funded by a local company in support of the project.  The hulls were then constructed free of charge by a local timber merchant. Today, with the two hulls completed, some of our staff and I went to begin the task of constructing the steel frame that will join the two hulls and also support the cabin structure.  The steel used for the frame was another generous donation from a local company.  The hulls are looking really striking now, having been painted by volunteers at the Isara foundation.

The boat is being constructed on the banks of the Mekong.  Hopefully within the next week or so, it should be sliding down into the water for its maiden voyage.

Here is the initial design that I helped with and the boat as it is now.

Modern Office Renovation

We were recently asked to propose a concept for the redesign of the interior and exterior of an office building in the centre of Nong Khai.  The owner wanted to convert what is an old and tired building in to a modern and stylish one with a completely revamped facia and remodelled interior.  There were also some other minor structural repairs to take into consideration.

Here is is the original building and our proposal for its renovation:

Automatic Motorised Gates

Automatic gates were once an expensive luxury, however, these days they have become very affordable and low maintenance.  If you are currently in the process of building a house and would like to enhance you property with an automatic gate, please contact us to get a quotation.  We can also retrofit existing gates, be they slide open or swing open.

We recently took a small job to supply and fit an automatic motorised gate for a client in Laos.  We were asked to construct the gate frame, fit the motor and gear equipment and complete all of the necessary wiring.  Wooden planks will be added to complete the gate by the owner at the same time as his boundary wall is completed by his current builder in Laos.

We have also installed automatic gates to our two projects in Thip Thani.

5 Bedroom detached home

It has been a while since I lost posted to the blog, primarily because we have been so busy with our latest projects.  One of which is the design of this large 5 bedroom family home which is soon to be built just outside Nong Khai town centre.

The client came to us with pictures of a number of houses that they liked and we designed the home taking design cues from those initial ideas, whilst designing a custom floor plan specific to their requirements.  The house has 315 sq.m of internal area and features two large bedroom suites on the second floor, plus two on the ground floor.  There is also guest accommodation with lounge, bedroom and bathroom, located above the car parking area complete with it's own stairs access from the main house.

Finishing touches...

It has been just about a month since my last update on Baan Sanploen and we have been busy with the finishing touches.

BOUNDARY WALLS AND PAINTING

We have finished all of the boundary walls, and also finished adding all of the decorative features such as wood effect fence panels, stainless steel detailing etc...  We have also fitted the engraved granite name plate for the house to the front wall along with a suitable styled mail box.  The main gate has also been fitted.

LIGHTING

With a couple of exceptions, the interior and exterior light fittings have now been installed.

POND AND GARDEN LANDSCAPING

Work on the pond and its pump and lighting has almost been completed.  We have also been planting more trees and working on landscaping the garden.  Just a few more plants to add.

CARPENTRY

The final piece of the jigsaw is now being put in in the form of all of the custom wood work.  I have designed all of the doors and cabinets and also the staircase which features a wood and stainless steel hand rail.  All of which is being made by to my design by a local carpenter.