ICE.SU House

The private residence sits on 300 square meter plot of land in Bangkok. The architect works with the brief, which gets translated into a two-story residential building that houses all the functional program and green spaces under one roof with a walkway designed to run around the house, along the glass block walls. The landscape architecture takes into consideration the space of the inner court, which is located in the area where it can utilize the house’s garden and green space to separate private living area from the public road situated toward the front of the house. The design of the inner court intends for the space to correspond with the presence of the living spaces and how they are used. The inner court is divided into two parts, one for each floor of the house.

The court at the ground level connecting to the yoga room is designed into a rock garden, using feature stones and gravel floor with the rather confined space. The rock garden’s philosophical and physical characteristics also set the meditative mood for the yoga room, which has a direct access to the minimal inner court. The view from the other side of the glass wall makes the rock garden seem more spacious. Material wise, the small gravels covering the floor appear in various patterns through time, functioning like the owner’s personal canvas with the landscape’s ground’s physical forms and visuals that are changeable as desired.

Placed at the back of the house, as a part of the green walkway that runs around the residence is the edible garden with vegetable growing in wooden crates and a number of fruit trees.

Inside the house, a large, 6-7 meter tall tree is growing, piercing through the height of the house’s upper floor and connecting the indoor green spaces into one unified narrative. The architect and landscape designer work together and add a wooden patio that embraces the big tree. The patio serves as an additional living space on the second story while the presence of the tree brings the green element to the living space on the house’s upper floor.

Foliage Plants and potter garden are chosen for the green space on the second floor. The plants and pots are thoughtfully selected and curated to perfectly complement the owner’s favorite wooden chairs, as well as to make the small garden easy to maintain and readjusted in the future. This little corner garden brings an extra lushness to the house and is clearly visible from the adjacent bedroom. Since the wooden patio’s ability to bear the weight of potter garden and water drainage were among the concerns, the plant materials and type of pots chosen for the garden were taken into consideration for the direct effects they have on the second floor’s load bearing.

The plants are selected for the visuals and functional merits they bring to the landscape and the house in general, and their ability to thrive in the semi-indoor space with more exposure to natural light during the day. In the meantime, the plants’ physical attributes complement and correspond with the style and materials of the house beautifully.