Veranda Pattaya

With the increasing price of land, most of the beautiful beachfront plots have already been bought up by developers. Newly built beach resorts are therefore more likely to be placed on linear land with just one narrow side open to the beachfront. Our challenge in designing resorts now is more likely to focus on how to create a memorable beach holiday experience while waterfront accesses are limited. Located on Jomtien beach, away from chaotic central Pattaya, Veranda Pattaya is a new resort that represented an opportunity to work through this challenge. Like so many other new resorts, the site is linear shaped with one end connected to the ocean. In addition, the site topography slopes, resulting in the beach access being much lower than the road entrance. To accommodate this drop, we built the lobby area one level down from the resort drop-off. The visitor can enter the hotel lobby by walking down the entrance staircase, or via the sloping driveway. Surrounded by green hedges and ground cover, the reflecting pond with its stones is placed to deliberately echo the presence of the sea. The dining area is also located on the same level as the lobby. Berms covered with the native plant ‘Ipomoea pes-caprae’, or Beach Morning Glory, are used to create a green-surrounded outdoor dining area.

The two swimming pools are located toward the beachfront area, offering stunning views of the Gulf of Thailand. Employing a ‘V’ for Veranda motif, the two V-shape Jacuzzis are integrated within the pool, along with three matching V-shaped sun beds. The two pools are separated by a shallow area, complete with added greenery, with ice-cream-stick-shaped stepping-stones that lead to the open seafront and add a playful element to the design. Returning to the main resort building, these unique stepping stones gently descend against a slatted surface with running water. Three wooden slatted pavilions, complete with comfortable seating, emerge from the verdant hedge-like berm over the side walkway leading to the pool, and also providing access to the sun deck and to the beach. The other side of the far pool boasts four such wooden slatted pavilions, set at an angle. We placed the sun deck facing directly to the sea, and used a mixture of grass and white gravel to decrease the impermeable area. Stone walls create a transition between the level of the swimming pool level and the bar lounge below, and also act as protection against the risk of tsunamis. After studying the shape and motion of the waves, we decided to install a curved seawall that helps roll the waves without causing erosion to the site, thereby protecting the precious beachfront. On the rooftop of the resort building overlooking the sea, we added a unique element to bring life to our concept of a sea journey. Building on this idea, we created a cantilevered deck with pier-like designs separated by water, with a lamp on each deck and sunken seat, acting as a lighthouse, and the foldable sail representing a sail.