Kep house

The house is located in Kep, which is a relatively quiet seaside town located at the southwestern tip of the country. The plot itself is on the perimeter of the jungle, in a densely green area about two kilometers from the coast. It was our first time designing a house without being able to visit the site. We had to manage with very limited and little information about the site. Essentially, we only worked with a few site photographs and a sketch provided by the investor. We dug deep into the culture of Cambodian construction, studied its traditions, and got inspired by the typical wooden dwellings on pillars. The elevated structure, standing above the ground level, is partly protected from usual monsoon floods and various rodents and insects. Our initial concept was founded on these principles and was predominantly working with wood and steel. However, further research showed that these materials are incompatible with today’s ecological and economic expectations. Wood is expensive and  (corroding) steel can’t combat Cambodia’s offshore wind. Our approach had to be reviewed accordingly.

The house is based on an elementary, square, floor plan. By elevating part of the mass, we created covered patios that organically blend into the house. In this climate zone, the barrier between the interior and exterior environment isn’t as relevant. As long as you have the exterior covered, you can use it the same way as the interior. This is how the swimming pool, the large dining room, and the entrance zone work. These opened spaces serve the main, active, activities. The bedrooms are located one floor above, each placed in separate cubes, connected through exterior links. 

Building a house with no supervision of the construction site was a first for us. It was a challenging, yet liberating experience. Instead of obnoxiously trying to keep everything under control and oversee each architectural detail, we had to rely upon and put our trust in the hands of the local craftsman. Our construction documentation had to be adapted to this level of collaboration. 

Team: Oliver Sadovský, Branislav Husárik

Typology: Residential

Year: 2015

Location: Kep, Cambodia

Status: Built