Luxury Villas & Property for Sale and Rent in Koh Samui, Thailand

Case Study Horizon Residence

3333(1)

Brief: Build Condominiums, Turn Key Build, Steel structure, Dry Wall
Start: April 2015
Finish: October 2017
Size: 5,858 m2
Total Cost: 100,336,350 THB

This build was the first of its type in Thailand. A 4,000 m2 development of two buildings, constructed over four floors. One of the investors wanted to use drywall and steel as the structure of the building, and the reasoning behind this was the increased speed of construction and lightweight eco-friendly materials being used. This structure also enabled higher ceilings in the units, as the steel takes up less space, and the laws prevent buildings being above 12 meters on the island of Samui.

To meet these requirements, we had to find a company that could produce cellular beams to reduce the cost of the steel structure. We also decided on using aluminum composite cladding to keep the building waterproof. For insulation purposes, we decided to use double-thickness drywall with insulation between the walls, which meant the walls would be 30cm thick, but provide excellent noise reduction between adjacent rooms.

For the flooring, as we wanted to provide longer room spans, we also had to order special concrete hollow-core flooring from Bangkok, which enabled Horizon Construction to make the rooms 5 meters wide without an extra beam. This resulted in the rooms having a much bigger feel than normal apartments in Thailand. We also insulated the flooring with rubber matting to help with noise from the units above and below. Many of these techniques had never been used in Thailand before, and we had to teach the staff ourselves on how to install the different materials.

As we had to keep the building below 12 meters, as per the regulations on the island, we also had to use a roofing material that would only need a 5 degree angle on it, so we decided to use polycarbonate steel insulated roofing material. This also allowed us to create a skylight in the middle of the building to provide light to the residence in the building throughout the day time. This reduced the usage of electricity, and provided a very nice feature to the building.

To make the building as eco-friendly as possible, we installed LED lights throughout. We had gutters installed on the roof and created 400,000 cubic liter tanks under the carpark. All rooms were fitted with keycards, so that when an owner or guest left the room, the lights and aircon would turn off. We also installed a waste water recycling plant that uses all the waste water and turns it into water that can be used on the gardens. Due to Koh Samui electrical issues, we installed a generator that can power both the buildings.

The total build time was 18 months, which conformed to the initial timeline for construction. It did take time to get the condominium license but we were able to do this within the initial timeline as well.

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