Situated just next door to the ancient and incredible Angkor Archaeological Park in Siem Reap town, Cambodia, the Breeze House is a modern home that revels its tropical surroundings. UAD Architects designed the home to blend elements of modernity with the lush green environment, and to passively respond to the climate. An open void brings extra daylight and a through breeze into the large living room, alongside a blissfully cool garden pond deck. A sweeping terrace curls around the curvilinear outline of the house, shrouded in a majestic curtain of hanging plants to shade and screen living spaces from the outside world. Discover a rugged natural stonework facade and an open plan interior that’s beautiful in its simplicity.
Preexisting tropical trees divinely shaped the unique footprint of the house, causing pleasing cutaways and an elegant curved terrace.
A row of mature palm trees gracefully dominate the modern home exterior, which stacks up around them in natural stone. A garden of large Elephant Ear plants bed down by the tree roots, creating a lower focal point.
The curvaceous terrace sweeps around the outside of the living room, making the lower garden landscape easily accessible by concrete steps at one end. Narrow walkways cut through the small raised garden, to connect the terrace to interior spaces on the other side.
Small glimpses of interior living spaces are revealed through breaks in the garden foliage.
The driveway of the home is an elongated curl that sweeps around to the home entryway through lush tropical landscape.
Lawn lights illuminate the long approach, whilst an enclosing wall builds mystique and exaggerates the pathway’s curvilinear form.
The homeowner desired a place for peaceful reflection next to a calming water feature in his home, and so a garden pool was worked into the floor plan along the edge of the living room. Bifold doors connect the indoor areas with the magical outdoor space, and invite a through breeze.
Small fountains bubble the shallow water around a small tree at the centre of the pool, creating a meditative sound track for the home. On the opposite edge of the pool, the sweeping terrace embraces the restful water feature from beyond a curtain of trailing plants.
The prolific plants grow shade and seclusion without completely enclosing the space, balancing the clients requirements for openness and privacy.
At night, garden lights produce enchanting shadows from the low-hanging leaves.
Moving inside, we discover how the home design focuses on the experience of spaces, which unfold through an open plan. A void by the home entryway presents a light filled nook for a small courtyard, which pushes air flow to internal openings. The decor is a meld of natural tones with stark black and white elements. Faux animal heads adorn the walls, building upon the nature theme. A sliding door leads to the private quarters of the home, where the bedrooms and bathrooms are located. The private quarters are accessed via a glass block wall that accepts natural light from the front pathway to the home. The grand double door we see here is the main home entry. A sink area is situated just outside of two guest toilets.
Dozens of clerestory windows open up the living spaces to an inpour of natural light. A light grey sectional sofa is tucked cosily into an inviting nook in the large living room, whilst a darker grey recliner is pulled up by the garden pond.
An extruded wall feature textures the back of the living room courtyard. See more inspiration for homes with green spaces.
The rugged stonework we see on the outside of the building has been embraced as beautifully rustic interior decor too. Rich wood kitchen cabinets and a coordinated dining table warmly complement the natural stone. A dark dining room pendant light hangs high up in the lofty room height, drawing attention to even more clerestory windows. A separate utility room is situated just off to the left of the kitchen area.
The same depth of colour enriches the wooden bedroom furniture, which brings heat to a crisp white decor scheme. Botanical art enlivens the simple space and harks to the tropical setting that the house is built upon. A home workspace occupies one whole side of the master bedroom, with a long bespoke desk design. At the foot of the bed, patio doors open out onto the master’s own private deck.
Trees and plants were main players in developing the build, layout and atmosphere of this home, growing a unique experience within and around tropical gardens. A second pool is situated deeper into the outer landscape of the home, thick with lily pads.
Exterior lighting exaggerates the gardens and the textural elements of the home’s structure.
The floor plan illustrates the garden pool as a dynamic space in the home from which most parts of the house are within sight. The dining room and kitchen run off one side of the deck, and the hallway and entrance are within sight just past the lounge. We can also see from the plan that the house contains three double bedroom suites, each with their own ensuite bathroom.
The rectangular part of the roof serves as the homeowners hobby space for urban agriculture, whilst the rooftop curves are covered in grass.
South and North elevations.
East and West elevations.
Sectional drawings.
