Typically, a factory threatens to be a nightmare neighbor. Our client’s vision to reside just meters from their electronics factory on the far outskirts of Phnom Penh was a bold decision, considering the potential aggravation.
Project Name: Sanctuary Villa
Studio Name: BLOOM Architecture
However, the family-operated industrial complex does not produce excessive noise and chemical pollution. The potential disruption was mostly aesthetic. From one perspective, the factory’s size and utilitarian design appear to be at odds with the surrounding pastoral setting. However, the alternative angle is an idyllic image of Cambodian countryside.
The obvious architectural response was to orient the villa towards the natural setting, with high walls and foliage offering protection and privacy. However the overwhelming presence of the factory could not be overlooked. Rather, its imposing presence is what influenced many of our design decisions, which ultimately define the villa’s unique identity
Sanctuary Villa embraces the concept of residing at the boundary of two distinct worlds. An interface between urbanization and nature, and between work and family life. A frontier retreat and a restorative cocoon, protected from the busy factory life, yet a sense of openness and a bond to the natural environment beyond.
Practically, the challenge was to create private sanctuaries within the home without making it feel isolated from the light and surrounding natural beauty.
The site had already been prepared with backfilled soil and a surrounding wall, giving a sense of a partially-enclosed terrace overlooking the rice fields. To take advantage of the view, the single storey concrete structure rests on a slight hill and features floor-to-ceiling glass sliding doors to optimize the view.
An opaque gate on entrance establishes an immediate separation from the factory, complemented by a vegetated internal courtyard and drop off area createing an additional buffer zone. Nevertheless, these components are only the first layer of sanctuary.
Stepping up to the house further augments the impression of entering a separate world, with the distant treeline subtly visible through the open living space. On each side of this main communal area, glass-covered slatted wood awnings allow filtered light to permeate, casting dynamic patterns on the polished concrete walls.
Further layers of privacy are revealed in the bedrooms, strategically positioned in separate wings to either side of the living space. Each bedroom is connected to a private terrace, and features its own internal courtyard; a patio that incorporates the bathroom, along with lush greenery on a foundation of local cement tiles and river pebbles.
Glass-covered slats above cast similar light patterns as the living space, simultaneously offering protection from the extremes of weather. Partially open to the air, the patio serves as a natural ventilation alternative for times when air-conditioning is not desired.
The home offers sanctuaries within sanctuaries, without denying its connection to the factory from which it owes its existence. For the family, it offers much more than privacy and the vital disconnection from work. Sanctuary Villa takes advantage of its unique position on the edge of two different worlds – and creates its own from the best of them.
