Thai Residence photos, Modern Koh Samui house images, Thailand island residential development, Architect design
Naked House, Koh Samui
Thai Island Contemporary Property, Thailand, design by Marc Gerritsen Architect
post updated 17 February 2024
Design: Marc Gerritsen
Location: Koh Samui, Thailand
images courtesy of architects practice
2 June 2020
Naked House on Koh Samui
Naked House on the idyllic island of Koh Samui is rooted in nature, simplicity and a return to honest living – but not without a dose of playfulness and adventure.
Photographer, architect and designer Marc Gerritsen wanted to build a house that offered an authentic living experience, a connection to the natural world and a retreat from city living.
After living in Taiwan and working all over Asia for eight years, photographing many luxurious properties and five-star hotels, Gerritsen began to tire of the opulence and the hustle and bustle. He found himself craving a more simple and meaningful architecture. It was then that he stumbled upon a plot of land in Koh Samui.
Marc Gerritsen: The main thing about this location is the expanse of the surroundings and the quietness. Life in Taipei is very hectic, and I needed a place to escape. I really wanted a quiet area and a fantastic view.
Having an open plan living room, with doors that can totally slide away, which look out at the pool and the ocean – that’s something I’d been thinking about for a long time.
With this plot, I was able to put the pieces of the puzzle together. The house was a return to the basic values in life: good clean air, wide-open space, quiet solitude.
With these basic values you can be in a space that is uncluttered, and your mind can become still. That’s also the reason behind the very basic materials that I have used: concrete, wood, steel and glass. There are no embellishments. The focus is on the space rather than the materials.
I originally planned three stories: two bedrooms on the bottom; the pool, living area and kitchen on the middle level; and an office on top. But I’ve added a bathroom on the living room level, a laundry room and pantry. I wanted a simple kitchen, with no overhead cupboards or tall fridge, so the pantry is good for storage.
I added a freestanding open-air bathroom, as the top room became a magnificent master bedroom, which needed an en-suite. The tank and plant room became a large open room with a swing bed, underneath the deck I added a steam room, and the space below the bedrooms now houses an office and maid’s room. So it ended up being five stories – the result of a work in progress.
My work over the last few years as an architectural and interior photographer has taught me what not to do. Looking at all the incredibly fine detailed properties I photographed in Asia. I thought: “Is this really necessary to be comfortable? If I walk on a concrete floor or if I walk on a marble floor, is it going to make my living experience so much better?” No. You just need a floor to walk on. I am interested in a return to basics, in a luxury monastic way of living.
Location
the villa is located on the south side of the island koh samui, which is very quiet as there are hardly any build up areas it is situated on the Samahita residences estate a gated community of 24 blocks of land, the naked house as it is called, has by far the best view of them all, as it is located at the top of the estate without any direct neighbours and on 3 sides it has natural reserves for km’s.
Construction
The villa is build with a solid concrete structure up to floor level a galvanised steel frame construction was placed on top all doors and windows are made of wood the floors are terrazzo inside and concrete finish outside each room has an installed air-conditioning and plenty of power points.
Marc Gerritsen
Marc is the designer, architect, artist and photographer and apart from that a keen builder, building in Thailand always poses many challenges and Marc has been fortunate enough to have had plenty of time to supervise the construction and exercise his meticulous quality control, apart from that he has had a leading role in the actual activity of assembling steel, building, furniture making and installing kitchens and bathrooms.
Naked House Koh Samui – Building Information
Area of land: 2000sqm
Interior: 405sqm
Pool: 47sqm
Uncovered deck: 30sqm
Walkways and corridors: 80sqm
Plant and tank room: 25sqm
Total built sq mt: 587sqm
The villa is built on 5 different levels:
level 1 office bathroom and maid’s room
level 2 two bedrooms with en suite 1 kid’s room
level 3 steam room yoga room
level 4 living kitchen pantry / laundry guest bathroom
level 5 master bedroom with open plan bathroom
Naked House information / images received from Marc Gerritsen Architect
Naked House on Koh Samui – for long and short term rent go here: Airbnb
Location: Koh Samui, Thailand, Southeast Asia
Thailand Architecture
Thai Architecture Designs – chronological list
Contemporary Thailand Home Designs – recent Thai property design selection from e-architect below:
Siri House, Suriyawong
Design: IDIN Architects
photo © Spaceshift Studio
Siri House in Bangkok
180 Samui Residence, Koh Samui
Design: Sicart & Smith Architects
photo © Julien Smith
180 Samui Residence in Koh Samui
Property Design
Contemporary Property Designs – recent architectural selection from e-architect below:
Another contemporary house in Thailand on e-architect:
Soe Ker Tie House, Noh Bo, Tak
Design: TYIN tegnestue Architects
Soe Ker Tie House
Comments / photos for the Naked House Thailand – contemporary Thai residence Koh Samui design by Marc Gerritsen Architect page welcome.