House with Chimaeras
Due to the steep slope on which the building is situated, it had to be specially designed out of concrete to fit into its foundations correctly. From the front, the building appears to have only three floors. However, from the rear, all of its six floors can be seen. One part of the building's foundation was made of concrete piles, and the other as a continuous foundation. Usually, these two approaches do not mix well but Horodecki somehow succeeded in overcoming this technical problem.
Rural Khmer house
Typology of Khmer house
The building consists of a supporting framework, which stands on individual foundations. There are no bracing or shear walls to strengthen the structure. The roof is built before wall cladding is applied.
The load-bearing piles of the building stand on single foundations. To comply with the specific conditions of the generally loamy soils, single foundations are laid in the following manner:
At the bottom of a 1 metre deep excavation several wooden poles of 1.5 – 2.00 metres length are rammed into the ground and then covered with a layer of compacted stone, followed by a hewn stone or prefabricated concrete slab, which provides the base for the pile. The excavation is then filled with soil. In a modern version the single foundations are linked with concrete slabs and prefabricated pillars extending to the upper floor are used.
For each pile, a single round hardwood tree trunk, such as .(…) is used. Extending from the foundation to the roof, and in the centre as far as the roof ridge, the piles, together with the horizontal joists, form the bearing structure of the house.