Veil house is a two-storey house of modest plans with ambitious social implications. The house follows a standard L shaped plan which upon closer inspection reveals layers of complexity. Rather than arranging the house along the site’s perimeter around a central court, and shunning the surroundings, it is encapsulated with gardens, which are not hidden away but is to be shared.
The challenge was in preserving privacy whilst allowing this dialogue with the neighbours. Veiled under layers of carefully considered, designed, and positioned screens; the gardens are shared with the community, either indirectly thorough views or direct use, in accordance with their relationship with the owner. The house engages with the surroundings in very precise and controlled manner. Designed not as a unicentric project that adds little value to the community, it is a house that responds not only to one family, but also considers the surrounding families within the neighbourhood.
Greenspaces are subdivided into courts, enclosed in facades and screens of varying degrees of pellucidity. Like individual cloths, tailored to specific requirements, veiled over internal spaces, these specially laid walls and facade defining exterior spaces where courts become “green rooms” interconnected with the interior volumes. The result is a much more integrated experience of interior and exterior dimensions. There is not a room without a commanding view of at least one court. Often the spatial sequence is layered with foreground trees and background shrubbery, one court backed by another. Each court is designed with its own unique characteristic, grouped into five segments, responding to differing intended uses.
The first of five is the Public Garden.
From the road, the most accessible patch of vegetation is a piece of landscape adjacent to the understated grand steps leading to the main gate. The long grass sway in the wind, with a tree as the main sculptural piece, backed by a porous brick wall laid in a cross pattern which catches shadows cast by the foliage above as well as tantalisingly teases with glimpses of another green court behind. The space is defined loosely by a cantilever beam gently suggesting the ownership of the space whilst remaining accessible to the public. Giving back to the community, whether it be resting steps for people passing through during the day, or offering street illumination during the evening, the front of the house becomes a place of solace, a space that openly interact with the urban tissue.
The main gate opens to reveal another just beyond which leads to the Semi-Public Gardens. Approaching the house these set of spaces are shared courts, to the left is the gravel court and the right a perfectly squared court. Eyes are first drawn towards the single tree whose sculptural form and fresh foliage pops out against the white background of the house. Paved in gravel, the space is designed to be trodden on by the mass. The community could congregate here lightly shaded by two orderly rows of flowering Plumeria. The grounds have been raised such that people in the garden could look over the parapet to have conversations with those on the road or neighbours across.
Next up is the Semi-Private Garden. From the gravel court guests are afforded a view through the metal screen that enclose the central court beyond. Vertical fins restrict views into the living room but is porous enough to create a layered view of greenery. Veiled by specially designed screen, the central and largest court is for eyes only. Only the client and those invited, are allowed to experience the space within. Entering the foyer guests are serviced with a large cloakroom and shoe closet. Although a smaller volume in all dimensions, the space doesn’t feel confined, as light glimmer and wind breezes through the permeable facade. The same vertical fin detail is repeated here for continuity. Once inside, the main living area is free of any obstruction, surrounded by two large courts on either side. Both are landscaped with undulating dunes planted in slightly different shade of greens. The treatment of the courts is slightly different reflecting its intended use; to the left covered in grass the dunes are gentler designed to be walked on.
To the right the dunes are more pronounced and hugged by paved meandering pathways which gives way to a seated area. These dunes are planted with a fine leaved Dwarf Modo Grass as they are not meant to be walked on. This court along with the other small one by the downstairs workstation are Private Gardens, completely restricted to outsider, for the sole use of the family and their guests at their leisure all day long in complete privacy. The staircase connects between the formal open plan living-dining-kitchen space and the informal snug, transitioning between the more public space to host guests to the private space for the family. Here too, the privacy level is reflected in the boundaries; the glass balustrade of the first flight transitions into solid timber walls in the second as it reaches the private upstairs. At the top of the stairs, the snug has its own green room directly behind. The screen allows the foliage of the tree below to be framed and contained. No blinds are necessary as the privacy is maintained and no peering eyes can pry though the screens. The bedroom landing is graced with the foliage of the trees downstairs and beyond the neighbour’s roof.
The final layer of the house is veiled in almost sacred temperament. This is the most private Sky Garden; only available to the owner, other members of the family do not have access. The view from the master bedroom is most impressive. Its commanding view is complexly layered resulting in a refined simplified view of lush greenery. The foreground lies a bridge leading to a lowered terrace. On either side are swaying leaves originating from the downstairs court shared with the study as well as the Weeping Willow view shared with the family snug forming the midground. Through the screen the central court trees are visible in the distant. This green connection is fully maximised, this view is permanent, unwavering, and uncompromising. As the screens ensures complete privacy here too blinds are not required.
From the road, and neighbouring windows, the house appears segregated; green pockets fragmented into levels of privacy, admitting views and access according to their relationships with the client. However, when viewed from inside, the family are afforded continuous, uninterrupted views, where the greenery lines up into fore, mid, and background. The house is designed as a part of the neighbourhood, interacting with what surrounds it. The ambition to provide an alternative to closed off gated developments has started bearing fruit. The layers of screens and façade of Veil house exists not to completely cut the inhabitants off from their surroundings, but in fact the permeability of these boundaries allows dialogues to take place between what is private and public whilst maintaining absolute privacy where required. Afterall it is all well and good to create a great house to live in isolation, but a true measure of living quality is in the number of friends the owner has made since moving into the house.
Team:
Lead Designer : Ayutt Mahasom
Architect : Ayutt and Associates design (AAd)
Interior Designer : Ayutt and Associates design (AAd)
Landscape Designer : Ayutt and Associates design (AAd)
Lighting Designer: Ayutt and Associates design (AAd)
Photographer: Chalermwat Wongchompoo (Sofography)
