Issue 3 | Feature brought to you by Primrose Hill Pattaya
Primrose Hill Pattaya developer, Raywat Willard, has lived in a lot of places.
Nine houses throughout seven countries and three continents, to be exact.
As a child of parents who were constantly moving around, Raywat grew up experiencing a wide spectrum of home-life nuances that correlated with living in different style houses and communities. Today, finally settled in Pattaya’s suburbs, he recalls having lived in houses that were clearly not designed with the residents in mind. Disproportionate bedrooms, awkwardly placed bathrooms or zero storage space are just a few examples of the problems he thought could have been easily avoided if only the developer had the foresight to incorporate solutions into the original design.
Today, Raywat has incorporated his personal reflections on what works and what doesn’t in his own company Baan Siri. The debut development, Primrose Hill, Pattaya* will be a gated community of 27 luxurious villas, each designed to optimize every inch of space by considering how the properties will be used and enjoyed. Creating a project like this however, requires a very strategic method of designing. A method that Raywat refers to as:
The “Inside-Out” Approach
Rather than designing the exterior form first and shoehorning necessary elements in later, the inside-out process begins by considering functional solutions to home-life, thus the common areas of each Primrose Hill villa were designed first, initiating the project design. As the layout for the rest of the project then grew around the common area, an analysis of the best way to connect it to the private rooms, such as bedrooms and bathrooms was next. Once the interior design was established, the project was then positioned to maximize airflow, natural light and mountain views, and finally the process was concluded by designing a beautiful exterior around it all.
While designing from the “inside out” is not a new concept, it’s one that’s rarely implemented into new projects in Thailand; a nation filled with developers who are racing to strike it big within the current housing boom.
“Most developers focus on how the property will look from the outside, but to design a space that’s comfortable to live in it’s important to remember that the consumer will be spending the majority of their time within the property, looking from the inside out,” Raywat said. “The concept behind the inside out approach is to carry out the design process from a consumer point of view.”
Considering the Consumer
To work from a consumer point of view, you must first consider who the consumer will be. Given the beautiful natural landscape, easy access to Pattaya city and the appeal of a gated community, the project is expected to attract families and locals in the area, as well as retirees and foreigners in the market for a second home.
Primrose Hill, set against a mountainous backdrop will contain two concentric circular rows of villas surrounding a lake. The interior row will offer spacious, one-storey “Lakeside” villas, while the outer row of two-storey “Hillside” villas will sit on land that was purposefully elevated in order to offer unobstructed mountain views.
For buyers looking for a holiday-home, the one-story villas may be the clear choice as each will have private dock access to the lake. Families that need more space may prefer the larger two-storey villas with a mountain view. These buyers will still be able to access the lake from community areas, as well as all other facilities in the development such as the gym, library, playground and barbeque area.
The positioning of communal facilities and each property within Primrose Hill are also part of the “inside out” approach, as the layout of the project will strategically foster community while also providing privacy. The concentric circular nature of the development and spread-out facilities will purposefully give residents an incentive to visit other parts of the project and interact with neighbors (not to mention that the road creates a perfect 1k running track). For those who wish for more seclusion, land plots are staggered so that no two properties are too close together, and shoulder-height walls between each offer just enough privacy without being isolating.
“A Better (Suburban) Living”
When considering the thoughtfulness put into literally every aspect of designing Primrose Hill, Pattaya, the development’s slogan “A Better Living,” is actually a much deeper statement than someone who is unaware of the “inside out” approach may realize. Home life is simply better when your home has a harmonious yet functional design, your neighbors are friendly and your community is safe.