World Architecture Awards 10+5+X Submissions

"MITI TIKAAN VILLA" epitomizes a harmonious blend of modernity and nature, nestled in the serene landscape of Kanchanaburi, Thailand. Our design intentions revolve around two key principles: modern minimalist aesthetics and a profound respect for the natural environment.

At the heart of our design philosophy is the commitment to create a space that seamlessly integrates with its surroundings. The villa's architecture exudes a timeless elegance, marrying the simplicity of modern design with classic elements. Clean lines, geometric shapes, and neutral tones define the exterior, creating a canvas that allows the lush greenery of the surroundings to take center stage.

Landscaping plays a pivotal role in enhancing the villa's ambiance, with carefully curated gardens and green spaces that accentuate the beauty of the natural environment. Native flora is incorporated thoughtfully, not only to add visual appeal but also to promote biodiversity and sustainability.

A hallmark of "MITI TIKAAN VILLA" is its adaptability and versatility. The minimalist design ethos ensures that the interior spaces are uncluttered, allowing for a seamless transition between seasons and a canvas for seasonal decorations and furnishings. Whether it's the vibrant hues of spring, the warm tones of autumn, or the festive cheer of the holiday season, the villa serves as a blank slate, ready to be adorned with personalized touches.

Attention to detail is paramount in every aspect of the design, from the selection of materials to the placement of windows to optimize natural light and ventilation. Each element is carefully considered to enhance the overall guest experience, promoting a sense of tranquility and relaxation.

Furthermore, sustainability is woven into the fabric of "MITI TIKAAN VILLA." Eco-friendly practices are integrated into every stage of the design and construction process, from the use of locally sourced materials to energy-efficient technologies that minimize environmental impact. Rainwater harvesting, solar panels, and green roofs are just a few examples of the villa's commitment to sustainability.

In essence, "MITI TIKAAN VILLA" is more than just a place to stay—it's a sanctuary where guests can immerse themselves in the beauty of nature while enjoying the comforts of modern luxury. With its timeless design, seamless integration with the environment, and commitment to sustainability, the villa sets a new standard for hospitality in Kanchanaburi, offering an unparalleled experience for discerning travelers seeking serenity and sophistication.


Overall, "MITI TIKAAN VILLA" combines luxurious amenities with sustainable design practices to offer guests a memorable and environmentally conscious hospitality experience.
- Design team:
Sarawoot Jansaeng-Aram (Principal Architect)
Suchin Thongmorn ( Senior Architect)
Sahraw Rahamadprasert ( Architect)
Yugesh Kumar ( Architect/Project Coordinator)

The project is located in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, located in East Africa. The project land, located in Ntinda, the newly developing region of Kampala, has an area of 777 square meters. When the ramp was built, it was aimed to dissolve the car parking area on the ground floor instead of building a basement, since the loss of space was too much and the land was very limited.The ground floor of the building, which touches the ground only with the entrance lobby and an elevator area that will allow vertical circulation, is used as a car parking lot. A staircase is designed open from the side of the building. This staircase leads to the cafe*&restaurant area designed on the 1st floor. The cafe restaurant area has direct access with this staircase designed outside, without entering the building. The 2nd and 3rd floors and the 4th and 5th floors are defined as a single office space. The gallery space, which is two stories high on both floors, allows both floors to work as a single floor. This gallery space is located at different locations on the 2nd and 3rd floors, and on a different floor on the 4th and 5th floors.The relocation of the gallery also allows for a more dynamic setup on the façade of the building. Instead of repeating floor plans over 4 floors, a more dynamic office setup has been achieved. High ceilings, that is, 2 floors high, are a sign of prestige. Instead of the classical office space, this 2-floor office design has been considered so that boutique brands can better express themselves to their customers.

Plot area: 777 sqm
Structure: Reinforced Structure
Car parking: 20 cars
Workspace Capacity: 106 person
Selim Senin
Cemil pamukcu
Isinsu Sopaoglu

PREFACE
In recent years, mixed-use developments have become increasingly popular in Vietnam, especially in high-density urban centers where different building types, scales and functions make a vibrant cityscape. This architectural typology in combination with reliable business models and decent design solutions may utilize the potentials of the site and maximize the benefits for not only project owners; developers; and tenants but also end-users and the public. The Waterfall is a unique medium-scale mixed-use building located in the center of Quang Ngai City in the Central Vietnam region. The design proposal is based on a creative design concept which strongly adapts to the client's business model while creating a distinctive built-form and decent functional spaces which are well-connected with the nature and public realm at the same time.

DESIGN BRIEF
The West-facing 485 square-meter project site is located at a busy street in the high-density city center. The site frontage is nearly 20-meter wide, which is a significant advantage for a mixed-use commercial building. The neighboring buildings are ranged from 2 to 5 story in height, most of them are townhouses, retail shops and public buildings. The design brief asks for an 8-level mixed-use building, including a basement and mezzanine with at least 2200 m2 of lettable spaces targeting on food & beverage businesses, retail shops, bank outlets, language schools, clinics as well as small and medium-size offices. Besides, the client’s business model also requests a high level of functional flexibility and energy-saving in order to optimize business outcome and operation cost. Moreover, sufficient parking, technical areas and communal spaces need to be carefully considered and integrated into the design project.

DESIGN CONCEPT
The design concept of the project is inspired from the vast natural landscape of Quang Ngai, which is formed by many rocky mountain ranges in the West combined with Eastern delta areas along Tra Khuc river flowing toward the East Sea. As observed from the outside, the architectural form and materiality of the complex building create a strong visual impression with many in-and-out solid masses stacked together like a majestic rocky mountain. A part of the “rocky mountain” is carved away to reveal a “canyon” covered by glazing panels in strong contrast with the rough solid walls. The transparent glazing brings natural ventilation and day light into the interior space while implying an imaginable “waterfall” flowing in the “canyon” before merging with the full-height transparent glazing of the ground level. The design project is then named The Waterfall to impress the idea that it could be imaginably related to a fascinating natural wonder. The concept is ultimately brought into the landscape and interior spaces in forms of free-style gardens; cavernous lobbies and pathways; rough cladding finishes; and nature-inspired tiling patterns. This unconventional built-form in combination with matching landscape and interior design would create an attractive destination for everyone and promisingly enhance the business outcome of the whole development project.
 
FUNCTIONALITY
As a respond to the client’s creative business model, the ground floor of The Waterfall is divided into two asymmetrical blocks: a rental commercial or retail space located at the South-West corner closed to the street; and a food and beverage block positioned at the Northern side in combination with an outdoor space. Besides, the specific structural design with up to 4-meter overhang span is carefully calculated and proposed to maximize the lettable area of the upper levels. As a result, although the ground floor area is just over 300 m2, the total buildable area of the 8-level building may reach nearly 2.800 m2. The spatial flexibility is strongly enhanced by positioning the circulation and service core at the rear while maximizing the lettable commercial spaces at the front. The project owner and tenants might flexibly negotiate on the positions and sizes of the rental areas without altering the overall structure. Each floor might be divided into up to three small office spaces ranged from 100 to 200 m2 while a medium-size company might rent 1 to 2 floors with 300-600 m2 lettable area and a large-size company might rent half of the building with the total area of over 1200 m2. Moreover, there is totally over 400 m2 of gardens; balconies; and terraces which provide spacious daily break-out and interactive spaces for the people working in The Waterfall.

SUSTAINABILITY
Passive design, which adapts to the local climate of Quang Ngai, plays an important role in The Waterfall proposal. The U-shaped floor layout allow desirable daylight getting inside the interior while the facades’ glazing is carefully positioned to minimize the solar radiant from the West and South-West. On the other hand, East-facing gardens and planted balconies located at the rear in combination with spacious East-West corridors engage pleasant cross ventilation during summer while the Northern façade is basically designed as a solid mass to prevent the cold strong wind in winter time. Moreover, the existing trees on the street pavement are preserved and relocated to provide desirable shading for the outdoor space. Rainwater is purposely collected via a comprehensive piping system then stored in a water tank at the basement before being used for landscape watering and firefighting when needed. Furthermore, solar panels are proposed on the rooftop as a supplement of hot water and electricity for lightings at communal spaces in the building. Low-E glazing; LED lightings and automatic landscape watering systems are also installed to greatly reduce utility bills. Finally, recyclable materials such as aluminum door and window frames; plasterboard partitions and ceilings are widely used in the interior fitting out of the project.

IDENTITY
The unconventional architecture of The Waterfall would create its own unique identity in the local context. Although the building looks quite different from a typically traditional building in the Central Vietnam region, its bravely proposes not only the symbolic relationship with the natural landscape but also the strong physical adaptation to the local climate of Quang Ngai. Besides, many traditional and local materials such as natural granites; ceramic and cement tiles; wooden furniture; porcelain planters; and bamboo decorative items are selected and proposed throughout both exterior and interior spaces of the project. The landscape and interior design also enhance the favored connection between the building with the nature and local culture in the contemporary way, which carefully places traditional and local materials in a modern configuration. This design approach results in impressive indoor and outdoor spaces which ensure pleasant experience for users and visitors, add value to the existing urban fabric, and most importantly creates a unique sense of place.

COMMUNITY
The ground level courtyard of The Waterfall is purposely designed as a connecting zone between the public realm and the semi-public spaces with walkways, paved ramps, and lively gardens positioned under the 20-meter “glass waterfall” in the center of the main building façade. A cavernous pedestrian pathway flows between two full-height glass blocks toward the main lobby and finally ends at a leafy rear garden, which is considered as a relaxing sanctuary for not only the people working in the building but also the visitors. In addition, a series of communal areas are proposed across all levels in forms of sizable balconies; terraces; pathways; and especially the 150-m2 rooftop terrace, where people would meet and interact with each other every day. On the other hand, wheelchair access is made available via gentle ramps; spacious lobbies and undisturbed corridors, disable and universal toilets are also proposed on the ground level as well as some upper floors in order to give more convenience and accessibility for the community.

Site area: 485 m2
Gross floor area: 2.780 m2
Number of floors: 8 floors, including basement and mezzanine
Functional areas: 375 m2 basement; 2400 m2 commercial & retail area; and over 400 m2 of landscaped communal spaces
Project Principal: Vinh Phuc Ta
Project Leader: Anh Tuan Pham
Project Architect: Hoang Nam Nguyen
Design Team: Thu Hang Tai; Minh Hieu Huynh; Huynh Nhu Bui, Casa Yen Nguyen

Kampala is a city that is also the capital city of the East African country Uganda. Located in the Central region of the country, the city is also the largest city in Uganda.It has a rapidly growing population that is estimated at 6,709,900 people in 2019 by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics.
Social life of the city is very dynamic. There is a movement that does not stop for 24 hours. Instead of designing a rectangular building, a dynamic design in which different levels are associated with each other to emphasizing dynamic city life on the new headquarters.
Building identity is defined by the roof! The building starts as 1 floor in two opposite directions and reaches 3 floors in the middle of the building.On the sloping surface of the building, which rises from the 1st floor to the 3rd floor, terraces that open to the outside on each floor are designed.In the middle part, where the building reaches 3 times height, a transition is provided that connects the two ends with 3 curved movements. This rhythmic movement places a special emphasis on the entrance of the building. The façade of the building was formed with vertical elements, indirect solar intake of the interior spaces was provided in the hot weather conditions of Uganda. Thanks to the retraction of the facade, a more sustainable design in terms of energy consumption has been achieved. The roof of the building has become a 5th facade due to the designed slope. Covering the roof and facade with standing seam metal cladding as a single material creates architectural integrity between the roof and the facades.

Structure: Reinforced Concrete
Facade: Standing Seam Metal Cladding
Selim Senin

Examining the architecture of the cold and mountainous climate on the edge of Iran raises the question in mind, why the evolved patterns of living spaces such as four rows, middle space, etc., which we see abundantly in the architecture of the center, are not seen in this climate. Pursuing the answer to this question and how to develop the rural life of this climate to create a desirable quality of life became the motivation for starting the Western Village project. This village is an attempt to pay attention to the rural/local matter this time, not in the form of a form of life in the past, but as a possibility for a different individual and social life in the present and future.
The pattern of the middle space and its use to improve the life of the residents has always had a special place in Iranian architecture, the trace of such a space in the culture of northwestern regions of Iran, such as Azerbaijan, is the spaces with the name of " Boneh Ghy". Boneh Ghy were pyramid-shaped elements to form large high spaces as a multifunctional space for living room, kitchen, storage, stable, etc. The contemporary reading of Boneh Ghy as a traditional spatial model in the region, was able to open different capacities for us in terms of programming. In this way, the expansion of the usual typology through changing the volume, and spatial height and creating cuts in the wall to let in light, produced a new type of middle space that can be used as a shared space of the house on a micro-scale and as a social space of the neighborhood/village on a macro scale. is used
In contrast with structural values ​​in new cities, in the western village, an attempt was made to follow the change of spatial quality simultaneously with the change of its coordinates, and due to the prediction of spatial inaccessibility, each of the spaces takes on a different flavor of the game between form and ground. The desired heterogeneous quality led to the change of direction and coordinates of the houses, their common spaces, and the middle spaces of the village, as well as the organic extension of the drawing lines between residential cells, the possibility of developing different social, cultural, educational, economic and... provided by maintaining this quality.
Adaptation of the artificial environment and the substrate includes physical characteristics such as materials, color, height, scale, etc. The historical evidence of architecture and urban planning shows that in the past, architecture and urban planning were formed in balance with the environment, and traditional architecture was formed with respect and attention to natural resources. Taking advantage of this approach in the new design led to the use of architectural elements, textures, and local patterns so that the cultural, historical, and architectural aspects of the village are also present in the new design.
Based on field observations, spatial development for children's living is one of the common cases in villages. Therefore, maximizing the adaptability of the plan for the children's lives became one of the other issues we paid attention to. By considering the social background and culture of generational coexistence in the village, an effort was made to provide connecting points between adjacent generations for longer coexistence with a flexible design for various ways of living through maintaining an adaptable space according to the diverse personalities of the residents. be made
Among the many factors of migration from rural to cities, economic factors have always been one of the most important reasons for migration. Therefore, emphasis on people's participation in decision-making processes and local development, collective power, and cooperation of residents can provide the possibility of realizing self-strengthening societies, cooperatives, and local social networks. Improvement of economic conditions along with maintaining a balance with the environment and local culture, development of sustainable agriculture, local handicrafts, and attention to related jobs can be among the features of the future village. In this way, the organization of work and living space together in the western village led to the formation of empty spaces in the walls of the houses and the access roads of the village, so that over time, through their reproduction, they could create a network of biological-domestic activities for more stable economic conditions. Examining the architecture of the cold and mountainous climate on the edge of Iran raises the question: why aren't the evolved patterns of living spaces, such as four rows, middle space, etc., which we see abundantly in the architecture of the center, seen in this climate? Pursuing the answer to this question and how to develop the rural life of this climate to create a desirable quality of life became the motivation for starting the Western Village project.

The Western Village project was started to develop rural life on the edge of Iran and create a desirable quality of life. The project uses a new type of middle space that can be used as a shared space of the house on a micro-scale and as a social space of the neighborhood/village on a macro-scale. The design incorporates architectural elements, textures, and local patterns to maintain cultural, historical, and architectural aspects of the village. The plan maximizes adaptability for children's living and emphasizes people's participation in decision-making processes and local development to improve economic conditions while maintaining a balance between the environment and local culture.
Davood Boroojeni Office
Design Team: Davood Boroojeni, Alireza Elmieh, Hamed Kalateh
Rendering & Post Production: Peno Visualization Studio