I’ve spent at least 50 years looking
at buildings and asking “Why?” Maybe 60 if you include my earliest
dabblings in drawing house plans and enjoying the dark mystery of neglected
Victorian hulks around me as a teenager in Barnsley.
It’s a kind of reverse engineering I suppose. And here
I am on an island paradise off the coast of Thailand, enjoying precious time
with my family, but inevitably ruminating on what makes the buildings tick.
Steel frame makes sense when you have to ship
everything across from the mainland. But it’s interesting that they have
emphasised grey cement colours… Thin cladding sheets and some acoustic
issues. The styling is crisp and minimalist, but tempered by judicious use of
wood. Don’t compete with nature. Understated buildings bowing to the unspoilt
beauty of site.
Until you get to the public areas of course. Here are
flowing curves and a homage to indigenous roofing. Infinity edges give a sharp
transition to a beach with rocky outcrops.
The…