Published on Aug 23, 2004

‘To call a home a product is to dehumanise it,” says architecture consultant Calum Srigley, who has worked on scores of realty projects in North America and Thailand.

He works with the firm’s architects and management “to create a sense of place”, giving character to their grounds. His work covers everything from the houses themselves to the shared facilities.

Srigley calls his job “envisioning”, which is to create, from the outset, an atmosphere for the place. His work in Canada includes a ski resort in Whistler, British Columbia.

Much of the work begins with sketches by Srigley himself. They identify the core elements that will enable the new communities to thrive and grow.

“I’m a traditionalist,” he says, “I believe a home should be a sanctuary. When people get stressed out they think they should take a vacation to find themselves. I believe the home should also be able to do that job: it should be a place where you can find yourself.”

While the concept may sound complicated and the detailed work can be extensive indeed, Srigley believes the ideas remain relatively simple to understand. For instance one of the key elements in the housing estates in Bangkok he has worked on are grand entrances.

The purpose for an elaborate, elegant entrance is to give its owners a sense of importance and pride. “I believe that if people are proud of where they live, they will make the effort to take care of it,” said the designer.

That being the case, he places emphasis on how the front of the project should appear, often landscaped with wide roads and a theme to reflect the character of its architecture.

Srigley has worked on five housing projects for the company and its latest is the “Grande Monaco” housing village on Bang Na-Trad Road, at kilometre 8.

The 200-rai project will contain 300 homes and the subdivisions average 70-80 square wah.

A 65-square-wah home will go for Bt6 million while a unit on 100 square wah will cost Bt10 million.

At this project Srigley has placed a garden-like entrance at the front of the new site. The main road is about 16 metres wide, and the landscaped gardens are open to the road front, thus exuding an air of luxury to the outside world.

Grande Monaco is currently under construction, and its three model houses will soon be available for viewing. Its smallest unit offers 195 square metres of built-up area.

The theme is French Riviera, known for its opulence, amiable climate and holiday mood.

At earlier projects such as Baan Sathorn and Golden Legend across the Taksin Bridge, Srigley placed conservatories inside the homes.

“At first the idea met with some resistance, but after a while they became popular,” he said.

The new generation of buyers are smart, he notes, and like movies. They see conservatories in films such as “The Time Machine” and “The Avengers”, and many wonder what such additions to the house would feel like.

Srigley is keen to break the myth that Thais do not like the outdoors and prefer enclosed, air-conditioned spaces.

While not many houses built today offer large balconies, with developers arguing that such spaces are a waste of money, Srigley disagrees.

“The outdoors is important. It brings the resident closer to nature. The touch of the grounds, the change in the smell of the air when it rains, things we tend to forget working in offices and indoors all the time.

“It brings us back to reality,” he said.

A litmus test he uses to evaluate his work is to ask himself: “What will the community look like in four years’ time? Will there be people strolling along the pavements? Will the trees have grown to provide vital greenery and shade to the village? Will the homes function as they were meant to?

“It really doesn’t cost more to build them,” he says, “but it’s vital they are correctly built to do the job.”

Itthi C Tan

The Nation