Where Architecture Makes A Vow With Nature

On the serene shores of Bang Makham beach on Koh Samui, a place where sand, sea, stone, and trees have lived in quiet harmony for ages, a striking concrete structure rises. Its architecture immediately captures the eye, yet upon closer inspection, it seems to blend effortlessly into the natural landscape. This is Vows Villa, a raw concrete building that serves as both a home and a sanctuary for new beginnings.

“A vow is the promise made during a wedding. The word resonated with me—I was looking for a single-syllable name, and the alliteration with ‘V’ and ‘Villa’ felt perfect,” owner Khun Poon (Taweesuk Luangvitchajaroen) told QoQoon. “The core idea from day one was to create a destination for weddings.”

This area was originally a vacant plot next to The Humble Villa, a hotel already owned by Khun Poon. Seeing the empty space, he decided to buy it with the initial idea of building another small hotel. However, he also wanted to create something new. Having attended several friends’ weddings on Koh Samui, he noticed that beach weddings were quite popular, which sparked the idea to turn this location into a dedicated wedding venue.

With the initial idea in place, the next step was finding someone to bring this vision to life. Khun Poon was captivated by the work of Patchara Wongboonsin and Ornnicha Duriyaprapan—the architect couple behind POAR (Patchara + Ornnicha Architecture)—whose designs he’d seen on social media. Their standout work with exposed concrete and focus on the beauty of raw materials was a style Khun Poon personally admired. A meeting to discuss the project and visit the site was arranged.

Architect Patchara added his perspective on the unique plot. “This was a completely open site, with a lot of existing trees and a significant slope, dropping about three to four meters from the road to the beach. What’s special about this area is that it faces west, and the beach in front, outside of the winter season, is a long stretch of sand. The owner wanted it to be a wedding venue and saw that it could be the only non-hotel, beachfront wedding venue on Samui. He gave me the freedom to propose my own ideas for how to develop the space.”

This project is comprised of its event and communal areas—two interconnected, cylindrical concrete structures—and a separate villa. The architects’ primary focus was to leverage the site’s natural features. “There are spaces with water and grass, a lawn for the wedding ceremony, and the beach itself, which is usable during specific seasons,” said architect. “My concept began with the site’s unique character. It’s a very narrow plot leading from the road to the sea and filled with many trees, some over 20 meters tall. It felt like a small, secluded forest by the ocean. I wanted the architecture to make people still feel enveloped by this forest. That’s why the first design element I drew was the circular pool.”

Why the circular shape? “First, a circle doesn’t exist in nature—it’s clearly man-made. If we were going to reflect nature, we needed something that was recognizably not a part of it,” he said. “When a circle reflects, it’s surrounded by nature but still perceived as its own distinct element. It’s a boundary that people subconsciously understand. In the end, we didn’t use any handrails or barriers. The form itself is a perfect, self-contained shape, and no matter where it’s placed, it doesn’t lose its integrity.”

The Vows Villa project features a central event space made of two connected cylindrical concrete buildings and a separate villa. The architect’s design was inspired by the site’s unique character as a “small forest by the sea.” To maintain this feeling, he incorporated a distinct circular pool—a man-made form that beautifully contrasts with and reflects the natural surroundings.

The buildings are constructed from timber-formed concrete, a material the architect favors for its clean, polished finish rather than a raw, rough look. The project also has a sustainable edge: the wooden forms used for the concrete casting were repurposed to build the front reception area, ensuring a near-zero waste approach to materials.

At Vows Villa, the raw aesthetic of the timber-formed concrete is beautifully balanced with the extensive use of wood. This was made possible by the owner, Khun Poon, a timber supplier who provided the architects with a wide selection of materials. The architect an opportunity to use wood structurally, making it as permanent as the concrete. He designed the columns using high-quality salvaged timber from an old school, which was uniquely engineered to bear the entire load of the concrete structure and the pool above.

This theme continues inside, where over 95% of the floors and walls are made from reclaimed teak sourced from various old houses. The result is a space that seamlessly blends the raw, modern feel of concrete with the warmth and history of wood.

Through the harmonious collaboration of the owner and the architects—each bringing their expertise and skills together with a foundation of trust—Vows Villa stands as a result of an architectural design as honest and sincere as the vows exchanged here.