Urbanland is launching a borey project in the south of Phnom Penh to better meet the growing expectations and changing needs of Cambodia’s ‘aspirational’ middle class that has emerged in the post-war generation.
According to recent research published by Urbanland, Cambodians are beginning to care far more about how to optimise their home for daily living from the inside, rather than mainly focusing on exterior aesthetics.
There is a desire for a simpler, more sophisticated approach to design, and people are looking beyond the superficial to home design that looks good and serves people’s practical and emotional needs while adding value to their quality of life, and not merely to generate a grand impression.
The research also revealed that people are looking for more from borey developments than is currently being delivered, with significant concerns about developers squeezing in too many units to maximise profits while giving little thought to the interior design of the units or the use of outdoor spaces.
“For our upcoming projects, we conceptualize our homes with people at the heart of our design, create park spaces that enable the community to thrive and bring people to reconnect with nature. We invite our community to step forward into a better way of living,” according to Urbanland managing director, Hok Kang, who was recently named Cambodia Real Estate Personality of the Year by PropertyGuru.
With award-winning developments like Raintree and Embassy Central in Phnom Penh, and Treeline Urban Resort in Siem Reap, successfully delivered since the company was founded in 2013, Urbanland is raising the bar even higher with this upcoming project, which Hok says is the project that best encapsulates his vision of people-centric design that can improve the quality of people’s lives.
“We spend half of our life at home and have an intimate relationship with our living space. Improving that space will vastly improve people’s lives,” says Hok.
“This comprehensive research we did has yielded a lot of insights. These insights are being put into our design thinking and processes continuously, which have allowed us to come up with incremental innovations in many areas of borey design in Cambodia,” he says.
“Here we are prioritising what we now know people care a great deal about - security and safety, interior functions, community and a sense of belonging as well as incorporating the essence of nature through careful consideration of the flow of light and air inside each unit,” he says.
The interior designs will be functional and adaptable to families’ changing needs as they grow together - with spaces that can be converted over time from nurseries, to hobby spaces, to home offices or even a quiet place for aging parents to take an afternoon nap.
Outdoors, the focus is on creating communal spaces that are green, shady and usable for all generations - with a children’s play park alongside a shaded outdoor area dedicated to older residents looking to connect in a cool and pleasant setting with their friends and neighbours.
There is also a plan for a communal garden where neighbours can come together to grow fruits and vegetables - teaching their children about nature while also benefiting the community with fresh produce and a sense of togetherness around a common interest.
“What drives us at Urbanland is to create spaces where families can thrive and share all the happiness and challenges that life brings. We are driven by this purpose - the ambition that Cambodians from all backgrounds should be able to live in buildings designed with their needs in mind, rather than adapt their lives to the buildings they inhabit,” adds Hok.
Find out more information about our upcoming project and register your interest ahead of its public launch.